Coach Bill Belichick Reacts to Losing Draft Pick in Taping Controversy

The New England Patriots signed quarterback Cam Newton this summer. It was a decision made in the perfect moment, or better said mere minutes before being involved in a taping controversy.

Almost immediately after it was reported the Patriots would sign Newton, news broke that New England would be fined $1.1 million and lose a third-round pick. This came as a conclusion from NFL’s investigation into the team’s television crew taping the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline in December.

All of that news broke on the night of Sunday, June 28. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick commented about it on Friday morning.

“Obviously, the league had a long investigation on that,” Belichick said Friday on a video conference call. “But really, we’re just looking ahead. We have a lot of things in front of us here, especially getting ready for the season and all that. So, we’ve moved on. We’ll deal with what we have to do in front of us here. Just let everything go in the rearview mirror and move ahead.”

The Patriots released a statement in December accepting “full responsibility for the actions of our production crew.”

New England were adamant that the team’s football staff had no involvement in taping the Bengals’ sideline during a game against the Cleveland Browns. They claimed that the production crew was filming a “Do Your Job” documentary on an advance scout.

The “Spygate 2” Taping Controversy

The taping controversy dubbed “Spygate 2” was referencing another scandal when the Patriots were fined $250,000 and lost a first-round pick in 2007. The reason behind it was videotaping New York Jets coaches giving defensive signals during a game.

The Patriots will be out a third-round pick in next year’s draft because of the actions of a team employee. However, Belichick has moved on from the ordeal.