Mike Macdonald addresses his controversial comments about Sean Payton

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is backtracking after publicly revealing a major rift between his team and the Denver Broncos last season.

In a recent interview with Graham Bensinger, Macdonald said the Seahawks had used video posted on social media by fans from Broncos training camp practices to prepare for the team’s regular season opener against Denver. When Broncos coach Sean Payton found out about this, he threatened to accuse the Seahawks of a Spygate-style scandal, but backed down when the Seahawks threatened a lawsuit.

On Wednesday, Macdonald said he had privately apologized to Payton, and that the story was never meant to go public.

“It’s something that I didn’t intend for public use,” Macdonald said. “It felt like it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and apologize to him for having that end up being public when it wasn’t meant to. It’s a lesson learned. I got to be better in that moment for understanding I’m responsible for what I say no matter the circumstances. I fell short in that moment.”