The NFL has rendered its verdict on the Patriots’ filming of a Bengals-Browns game late last year. The results aren’t pretty for the Pats – they’ll be fined $1.1M and stripped of a 2021 third-round pick, according to Mike Reiss and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Furthermore, Patriots' TV crews will be barred from filming games during the upcoming season.
The Pats’ crew set up shop in the press box and filmed the Bengals’ sideline during their Week 14 game. A Bengals staffer took notice, turned the camera on the Pats’ crew, and turned over an eight-minute tape to the league office.
The Patriots said they were filming an episode of their online series “Do Your Job” and simply gathering b-roll for the next episode. The Patriots also acknowledged that they should have done a better job advising the crew of league protocol and communicating with the Bengals beforehand. Still, teams are prohibited from shooting video of coaches on the sideline and the NFL likely took the Patriots’ “Spygate” history into consideration.
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