Who Dey
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
- 1,499
- 0
Getty Images
The NFL apparently will be moving quickly to resolve the investigation regarding New England’s inadvertent rules violation, which resulted from a video camera being pointed at the Bengals’ sideline on Sunday.
The Patriots contend that the crew that captured the images has no connection to the team’s football operations; the league’s investigation should take reasonable steps to confirm that. Even if the league can establish no such connection, the tape itself could contain relevant clues as to whether it was (as the team contends) an attempt to demonstrate the manner in which an advance scout does his job or a deliberate attempt to harvest intelligence about the Bengals’ sideline activities.
The tape also could be inconclusive. There’s no way of knowing without seeing the tape.
Five high-level executives from different teams tell Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that the tape should be made available to all teams. (Three of them said the tape should be disclosed publicly, too.)
If any other team did this, it’s unlikely that so many teams would want to inspect it. But that’s the unfortunate reality of the Patriots’ history — and of their unprecedented success. Cheating allegations have chased the Patriots for years, because coaches and General Managers who can’t compete with the Patriots and who can’t explain to the owners of their teams the inability to do so often resort to claiming that the Patriotrs are better because they cheat. That’s easier than explaining, for example, that the Patriots work harder, smarter, and better than anyone else.
How hard the NFL will be working to resolve this latest controversy remains to be seen. While some would like it to go away quickly, some will be prepared to conclude that it wasn’t an accident, no matter what the evidence shows.