Report: Patriots' Video Focused On Bengals' Sideline For Eight Minutes, Belichick Claims No Knowledge Or Involvement
BOSTON (CBS) -- Whether you like it or not, the Patriots' newest videotaping story is sure to be a major talking point for the next several days, if not much longer. Until the situation gets resolved, it will remain a point of speculation around the country.
With that in mind, the story was advanced to a slight degree on Tuesday morning. After ESPN's Dianna Russini on Monday cited a source saying that the Patriots employee filmed the Bengals sideline for "the entire first quarter," and after the Patriots admitted that a production crew not associated with football operations did indeed film the film during the game, which they were attending to film a "Do Your Job" special on the scout covering the game.
On Tuesday, The Athletic's Paul Behner Jr. slightly adjusted Russini's report, saying that instead of filming "the entire first quarter," the footage focused on the Bengals' sideline for "about eight minutes."
The report didn't specify whether that meant eight actual minutes or eight minutes on the game clock.
"According to sources who have viewed the tape, it shows about eight minutes of data focusing on recording the Bengals' sideline," Dehner reported. "It's a direct view of the sideline as players run on and off the field and coaches make signals for plays."
Dehner added that the person shooting the video was in the front row of the press box, "wearing Boston Bruins gear."
Dehner also reported that the footage was "egregious."
"This is shooting the sideline. For an extended period of time," Dehner wrote. "The egregious nature of the video is why it set off the firestorm it did during the game with the Bengals executives in the press box."
Meanwhile, Bill Belichick spoke in a radio interview on Monday afternoon and said that he had no knowledge of the production crew's work, and that he's never seen their footage -- outside of what airs in their final products on TV.
"I heard about this and evidently this is our production people on the TV show that were there and I have absolutely nothing to do, we have absolutely nothing to do with anything that they produce or direct or shoot," Belichick said on WEEI. "I have never even seen any of their tapes or anything else. This is something that we 100 percent have zero involvement with."
On Tuesday morning, in a conference call with New England reporters, Belichick reiterated that stance.
"I have no involvement in this and no knowledge of it, so I really don't have any idea what exactly is going on," Belichick said. "I can tell you that we've never -- as a coaching staff and I, personally -- have never viewed any video footage at all of anything that those production people have done, other than what's shown on public television or something like that. But we don't have anything to do with what they do, so I really don't have much knowledge of the situation at all."
Earlier Tuesday morning, Belichick spoke with Cincinnati reporters, during which he also stated that same message.