Sideline Spying: N.F.L. Punishes Patriots’ Taping

[Woodmonkey]

Sideline Spying: N.F.L. Punishes Patriots’ Taping

The National Football League fined New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 yesterday, and the team will forfeit its first-round draft pick in 2008 if it makes the playoffs, for violating league rules Sunday when a Patriots staff member was discovered videotaping signals by Jets coaches during the season opener at the Meadowlands.

The Patriots will be fined $250,000. If they fail to make the playoffs, they will forfeit their second- and third-round picks in 2008.

It is the first time in league history a coach and franchise have been disciplined for videotaping — essentially spying on — opponents. The league’s ire with a team that has won three Super Bowls in six years and that until last week was considered a model of success was obvious in the unprecedented severity of the punishment. No coach has ever been fined such a large amount. Teams have forfeited first-round picks before, sent to other teams as compensation in tampering cases, but no team has ever lost a first-round pick as an outright punishment. No team will receive the draft pick or picks the Patriots will forfeit.

“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.

Belichick, who on Wednesday seemed to acknowledge wrongdoing without admitting it, last night accepted full responsibility for the incident.

“Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake caused,” he said in a statement, referring to the Patriots’ owners. “I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for their support during the past few days and throughout my career.

“As the commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week’s game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress.

“Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the constitution and bylaws was incorrect.”

N.F.L. policy prohibits videotaping opposing coaches giving signals. Last year, the N.F.L.’s executive vice president of football operations, Ray Anderson, sent a memo to teams reminding them of the rule. The memo is believed to have been generated in part by suspicions that the Patriots had videotaped coaches at several games last season.

Goodell does not believe that the Patriots’ owner, Robert K. Kraft, was aware of Belichick’s actions. But Goodell penalized the franchise anyway because, Goodell said, Belichick has “substantial control over all aspects of New England’s football operations.”

The Patriots, who acquired several big-name players in the off-season, are considered one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl this season. If they lose a first-round pick, the blow will be cushioned because they will have another, which they received in an off-season trade with San Francisco.

Still, the impact of losing the high draft picks could damage the franchise for years and could even outlast Belichick’s tenure as head coach. His contract status is a tightly held secret. Nobody is even sure if he is signed past this season, and Kraft and Belichick have both danced around the question of how long Belichick would stay on. But draft picks, particularly early-round ones, are the cornerstone of teams seeking long-term success. During his time in New England, Belichick and his top staff have been adept at hoarding picks and drafting well.

“I specifically considered whether to impose a suspension on Coach Belichick,” Goodell wrote. “I have determined not to do so, largely because I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and therefore more effective, than a suspension.”

During his investigation, Goodell determined that because the tape was seized before the end of the first quarter, it did not affect the Patriots’ 38-14 victory over the Jets. But Goodell said that the N.F.L. would now monitor the Patriots’ video program.

It is perhaps no coincidence that the Patriots were caught during a game against the Jets, whose coach, Eric Mangini, was an assistant to Belichick before joining the Jets last season.

“We support the commissioner and his findings,” the Jets said in a statement. “The focus of our organization remains on the upcoming game against Baltimore.”

But the focus of the rest of the league this week has been on the Patriots, and their reputation has suffered. Less than two weeks ago, one of the leaders of their defense, safety Rodney Harrison, was suspended four games for using human growth hormone.

Now, the integrity of Patriots’ victories, even those three Super Bowl victories, have been called into question. Members of the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost a Super Bowl to the Patriots, wondered yesterday if the Patriots had stolen signals against them.

It is a question that figures to cloud the legacy of the Patriots and their coach for years.

The Source

[RLDragoon]

The Pats integrity may be challenged, but they still may be the best team in the NFL.