As we speedily descend to madness in the other (game?) thread, I thought it'd be helpful to have a distilled set of info for the pragmatic-minded in these parts.
Please add relevant news and facts here. We can also get a wiki-like FAQ going here, so if people provide the content I'll edit it into this OP. If you want to discuss any of the posts here (other than factual corrections / new info), please hit the Quote button on it, go to the other thread, hit Insert Quoted Posts, and carry on as ever.
Here's what we've got so far, in roughly sequential order:
Initial reporting:
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204138713682497537
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204138997943017478
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204146343851315201
Belichick comments:
Monday afternoon:
View: https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1204182458184409089
Importantly, he also adds comments about the rules, via this NFL.com article:
Official Patriots statement (Monday night):
View: https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1204227854898208769
Transcribed:
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 scouring 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 – in appropriately 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.
---
Reporting since then:
CBS Sports article: "false alarm"
NESN / Doug Kyed article with some very good reasoning and points. He thinks if the film crew truly is independent from football ops, as the Patriots claim, the impact will be limited to a fine.
The Athletic with a greater breakdown and more fleshed-out story, if you're a subscriber.
---
FAQ
Why would a film crew be filming the sideline?
The stated reason for the filming was for use in the documentary episode about a Patriots advance scout. One may presume they were filming the sidelines as B-Roll footage, to line up against (perhaps) a voiceover describing what the scout was seeing or doing in observing the Bengals. Here's why they might film that stuff and why it's important, just limited to the documentary perspective. Obviously, if there was any intent or communication with the football ops department, that explanation goes out the window.
What's the actual NFL rule the Patriots said they broke (unintentionally)?
The latest Constitution and Bylaws of the NFL that I can find is from 2006. Relevant portions may include:
9.1(c)14: (no member or employee of the League may)... "Use at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which a club is a participant, any communications or information gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game."
Rules on game films (i.e. filming of a game you're participating in, so not this exact situation) are covered by:
19.20: The home club shall provide the visiting club facilities and vantage points equal to its own for the filming of the game for coaching purposes.
19.21: A club that films its home games from more than one sideline vantage point shall inform future opponents, with whom films are to be exchanged, of that fact and must provide each opponent true copies of films taken from the vantage point preferred by the opponent.
(if anyone can find a specific league memo or directive that's more on-point, please post here)
Please add relevant news and facts here. We can also get a wiki-like FAQ going here, so if people provide the content I'll edit it into this OP. If you want to discuss any of the posts here (other than factual corrections / new info), please hit the Quote button on it, go to the other thread, hit Insert Quoted Posts, and carry on as ever.
Here's what we've got so far, in roughly sequential order:
Initial reporting:
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204138713682497537
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204138997943017478
View: https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1204146343851315201
Belichick comments:
Monday afternoon:
View: https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1204182458184409089
Importantly, he also adds comments about the rules, via this NFL.com article:
Tuesday morning with Cincinnati media:
Official Patriots statement (Monday night):
View: https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1204227854898208769
Transcribed:
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 scouring 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 – in appropriately 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.
---
Reporting since then:
CBS Sports article: "false alarm"
NESN / Doug Kyed article with some very good reasoning and points. He thinks if the film crew truly is independent from football ops, as the Patriots claim, the impact will be limited to a fine.
The Athletic with a greater breakdown and more fleshed-out story, if you're a subscriber.
---
FAQ
Why would a film crew be filming the sideline?
The stated reason for the filming was for use in the documentary episode about a Patriots advance scout. One may presume they were filming the sidelines as B-Roll footage, to line up against (perhaps) a voiceover describing what the scout was seeing or doing in observing the Bengals. Here's why they might film that stuff and why it's important, just limited to the documentary perspective. Obviously, if there was any intent or communication with the football ops department, that explanation goes out the window.
What's the actual NFL rule the Patriots said they broke (unintentionally)?
The latest Constitution and Bylaws of the NFL that I can find is from 2006. Relevant portions may include:
9.1(c)14: (no member or employee of the League may)... "Use at any time, from the start to the finish of any game in which a club is a participant, any communications or information gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, including without limitation videotape machines, telephone tapping or bugging devices, or any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game."
Rules on game films (i.e. filming of a game you're participating in, so not this exact situation) are covered by:
19.20: The home club shall provide the visiting club facilities and vantage points equal to its own for the filming of the game for coaching purposes.
19.21: A club that films its home games from more than one sideline vantage point shall inform future opponents, with whom films are to be exchanged, of that fact and must provide each opponent true copies of films taken from the vantage point preferred by the opponent.
(if anyone can find a specific league memo or directive that's more on-point, please post here)
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