The New England Patriots were caught spying on opponents during the 2007 season in what became the franchise’s infamous ‘spygate’ scandal, and were once again in the headlines for the same last season.
The team was reported by a Bengals staffer for allegedly filming the team’s sideline for a number of minutes during a 2019 Bengals-Browns game. A Patriots film crew was in Cincinnati to film for a future documentary titled ‘Do Your Job’, with an advance scout being filmed and interviewed on his role with the team. It turns out that wasn’t the only thing being filmed.
After turning over the tapes to the league office, 8 minutes of film fixed on the Bengals sideline during the first quarter of the game was found. The Patriots would go on to admit guilt in the situation, and punishment has now been handed down. The repercussions include a $1.1 million fine, a 2021 third-round draft pick stripped, and a ban on Pats film crews being able to shoot games during this upcoming season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
NFL has handed down these penalties to the Patriots for their television crew filming the Bengals-Browns game in December, sources tell @MikeReiss:
🏈$1.1 million in club fines.
🏈Loss of 2021 third-round pick.
🏈Patriots’ TV crews not allowed to shoot games during 2020 season.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 29, 2020
