Losses of draft picks, management suspensions and fines are among penalties the Patriots may face from the NFL for videotaping the Bengals sideline during Cincinnati's Week 14 game against the Browns, according to a report from CBS Sports.
Jason La Canfora reports New England is likely to lose "at least one draft pick" and face "heavy fines" following the conclusion of the league's investigation. In addition, the NFL may suspend a member of the organization's upper management.
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Part of the explanation for the harsh penalties is the Patriots' recent history of impropriety, including infamous scandals such as Spygate and Deflategate.
The Patriots admitted recording the field broke the rules, but claim their coaches and football operations staff were unaware of the videographer's intentions or actions. The production team was in Cleveland ostensibly to record a video feature on a New England advance scout. But, as shown in a video snipped released by Fox on Sunday, the cameras also recorded close-ups of the Bengals' sideline one week before the Patriots visited Cincinnati.
According to an NFL Network report, the league has finished the interview stage of the investigation but has not set a timetable for its conclusion. "All options are on the table" for potential punishments, per Ian Rapoport.
The videographer, Dave Mondillo, has already been suspended by the team, according to The Boston Globe.
Mondillo released a statement Sunday evening, saying he "had no intention to provide footage to football operations, ... did not provide any footage" and "was never asked to do so." Puzzilingly, the statement also misidentifies the Browns' stadium as "Progressive Field," which is the stadium where MLB's Cleveland Indians play, about a mile away from the Browns' FirstEnergy Stadium.
Statement from David Mondillo, Supervising Producer, Kraft Sports and Entertainment. #Patriots pic.twitter.com/0gWGRoErgb
— Tom Leyden (@TomLeyden) December 15, 2019