Jets players notify NFLPA of hidden cameras in locker room at team facility

The New York Jets are preparing to host a team in the New England Patriots that has had plenty of camera controversy in the past. This time, however, New York has a camera issue of its own. 

Jets players have recently “alerted the NFL Players Association in recent weeks about what appeared to be surveillance equipment hidden in smoke detectors in the Jets locker room,” according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. 

The NFL claimed that cameras have been in the Jets locker room since 2008 when the team relocated from Long Island to New Jersey. The league concluded that players knew about the cameras and that they were compliant with NFL rules. 

Mehta spoke with current and former Jets players about the matter, and every player told him that they were unaware of the cameras in the locker room. 

“I’m p-ssed,” one former player said, per Mehta. “That’s our space. Why would you have a camera in there? That’s bullsh---.”

Mehta adds that New Jersey law covers the videotaping of people whose "intimate parts are exposed," but prohibits “circumstances in which a reasonable person would not expect to be observed.”

While state law may allow for videotaping, players could argue that the CBA doesn't allow such surveillance of players in the locker room. 

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, the Jets believe the cameras serve a security purpose, aimed at protecting players. Florio adds that the cameras aren't monitored and footage is used only if an incident occurs. One of Florio's sources also says that the Jets believe the "cameras violate no laws and comply with the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

It'll be interesting to see how this matter plays out, especially because the Jets can't be the only team in the NFL to have hidden cameras in their locker room.