The New England Patriots could learn as quickly as this week if they will receive any punishment for a film crew filming the Cincinnati Bengals sideline, according to Mark Maske of the Washington Post.
The NFL hopes to move quickly in its investigation of the Patriots' video. A resolution is possible this week. One source said a consideration for the league is whether the video shows anything that couldn't been seen on TV or on the coaches' tape.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) December 10, 2019
According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, the tape from the film contains eight minutes of direct sideline footage.
According to the Patriots in a statement, the film was to be used for a “Do Your Job” video feature that the crew was working on about an advanced scout. They took full responsibility for what happened but also claimed the video was to be only used for the video future and wouldn't be seen by the team.
There was no intention of using the footage for any other purpose. We understand and acknowledge that our video crew, which included independent contractors who shot the video, unknowingly violated a league policy by filming the field and sideline from the press box. When questioned, the crew immediately turned over all footage to the league and cooperated fully.
The production crew is independent of our football operation. While aware that one of the scouts was being profiled for a “Do Your Job” episode, our football staff had no other involvement whatsoever in the planning, filming or creative decisions made during the production of these features.
We accept full responsibility for the actions of our production crew at the Browns-Bengals game.
It's unclear what type of punishment could be coming their way but if the Patriots are found to be lying in their statement it could be a big punishment. This is being called Spygate 2.0 and if it comes out the Patriots were trying to gain an unfair advantage the NFL probably will throw the book at them.
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