Bill Belichick emphatically denied having anything to do with a New England Patriots videographer illegally filming the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline during Sunday’s game in Cleveland, but that does not mean the coach is blowing the incident off. Apparently, Belichick is livid.
Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston wrote on Thursday that Belichick is “beside himself” about what took place in Cleveland. The future Hall of Famer hates distractions, and there’s no question this has become one. Not only that, but it stems from something that was done by Kraft Sports Entertainment, which has to do with the Patriots brand and not the football side of things.
As Curran puts it, Belichick “tolerates the intrusion of Kraft Sports Entertainment” and understands the importance of an NFL team promoting its brand. He also appreciates football history and recently took part in NFL Network’s multi-part special for its NFL 100 All-Time Team, so he has been known to partake in documentaries like “Do Your Job,” which was the reason the Patriots had a production crew in Cleveland. However, the mistake — which the Patriots insist was an honest one — has now led to other scandals making their way back into the news and is already being viewed by some as another stain on Belichick’s legacy.
Assuming he truly did have nothing to do with the alleged footage a videographer captured of Cincinnati’s sideline, it’s easy to see why Belichick is angry. There’s essentially nothing he can say to convince a portion of the population that he’s telling the truth, even though early indications are the Patriots would have gained virtually nothing from what was recorded.
Like Spygate and Deflategate before it, the incident in Cleveland will surely blow over. Belichick knows that, but he also knows his team is coming off a tough loss and seems to be getting weaker as the season goes along. The last thing the Patriots needed was another controversy, let alone one that was created by someone Belichick may not even know.
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