Bengals coach Zac Taylor inadvertently set off about a 15-minute firestorm when he was asked at his Monday press conference if he was aware of rumors that "the Patriots had a videographer up in the Bengals' press box area working with the advance scout who was taping video of the Bengals' sideline."
Taylor responded, “I’m aware that there was an incident but the league is investigating it, so I’ve got no comment.”
Spygate II?
More like much ado about nothing.
Turns out the Patriots had a videographer in Cleveland to film an advanced scout as part of their regular "Do Your Job" documentaries that feature different members of the organization, from the equipment managers to the scouting department administrative assistant.
The Patriots had cleared it with the Browns, but did not inform the Bengals, next week's opponent.
The Patriots are cooperating fully with the league and have turned over the tapes to the NFL. Not much is expected to come of it.
UPDATE I
the Bengals employee flagged media relations. Bengals security then interviewed the Kraft videographer. This was also taped. The cameraman asked if they could just delete the footage and it all be forgotten per sources
— Dianna (@diannaESPN) December 9, 2019
Sources say there was a guy interviewing a Patriots pro scout before the game but that was over when the game started.
— Dianna (@diannaESPN) December 9, 2019
For the past year, the New England Patriots content team has produced a series of behind-the scenes features on various departments within the organization. The seven previous “Do Your Job” episodes are archived on patriots.com. On Sunday, Dec. 8, the content team sent a three-person video crew to the Bengals-Browns game at FirstEnergy Stadium in order to capture one part of a longer feature on the Patriots scouting department, in this case a Patriots pro personnel scout while he was working in the press box.
While we sought and were granted credentialed access from the Cleveland Browns for the video crew, our failure to inform the Bengals and the League was an unintended oversight. In addition to filming the scout, the production crew – without specific knowledge of League rules – inappropriately filmed the field from the press box. 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 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.
