The New England Patriots have admitted wrongdoing in the taping saga, calling the recording of the Cincinnati Bengals sideline last Sunday “an unintended oversight.”
In a statement released Monday night, the Patriots noted its content team was credentialed for the game but a team of contractors shooting footage violated the rules by training the camera on the Cincinnati sideline.
Stressing the division between the content team and football operations, the Patriots noted the following:
“The sole purpose of the filming was to provide an illustration of an advance scout at work on the road. There was no intention of using footage for any other purpose.”
The full statement:
Statement from the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/rhXdwVvnr8
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 10, 2019
This unexpected saga started over the weekend when a Bengals staffer alerted security in Cleveland. The NFL then swooped in and confiscated the tape. While the well-known Patriots documentary series was the subject matter, a report says the Bengals staffer saw his or her team’s sideline being recorded. Unfair or not, this unfolding of events is almost exactly what happened during Spygate.
In the statement above, the Patriots admit to the taping and will accept whatever punishment stems from it but label the events as an honest mistake. With both the Bengals and NFL in possession of the tapes, it should be a simple matter to clear up via investigation.
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