The Spygate scandal was a National Football League (NFL) controversy during the 2007 season, in which it was discovered that the New England Patriots were videotaping opposing coaches' signals during games under head coach Bill Belichick. It began when the New England Patriots were disciplined by the NFL for videotaping the New York Jets' defensive coaches' signals from an unauthorized location during a September 9, 2007 game. Videotaping opposing coaches is not illegal in the NFL, per se; there are designated areas allowed by the league to do such taping. Because the Patriots were instead videotaping the Jets' coaches from their own sideline during the game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deemed it to violate league rules, stating that the act represented a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field. After an investigation, the NFL fined Patriots head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 (the maximum allowed by the league and the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the league's history) for his role in the incident, fined the Patriots $250,000, and docked the team their original first-round selection in the 2008 NFL draft which would have been the 31st pick of the draft.
As part of their probe into the allegations, the NFL required the Patriots to turn over any and all notes and tapes relating to the taping of opponents' defensive signals. The Patriots refused to allow the video tapes to leave their athletic facilities; in turn, at Goodell's order, league officials went to the Patriots' facilities and smashed the tapes.
Because the tapes were immediately smashed and never thoroughly examined by league officials, the size and scope of Spygate remain largely unknown. This led to criticisms against Goodell for destroying mounting evidence that could have exposed the Patriots organization. The destruction of videotapes was criticized on February 1, 2008 – 2 days before Super Bowl XLII – by U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania Arlen Specter, who requested to meet with Goodell. After meeting with Goodell on February 13, 2008, Specter reported that Goodell told him that Belichick had been engaged in the practice since he became head coach of the Patriots in 2000. Belichick said he believed he was operating within the rules as long as the tape was not used during the same game.
Whistleblowers within the Patriots organization alleged that illegal videotaping began as early as the 2000 season. A major controversy erupted when the Boston Herald reported that the team had also filmed the St. Louis Rams' private "walkthrough" practice before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. While Bill Belichick denied this, the NFL sought evidence from Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant who had been fired following the 2002 season.
After reaching an indemnity agreement with the NFL in April 2008, Walsh provided evidence that clarified the scope of the team's activities. Walsh turned over eight videotapes containing footage of opposing coaches' hand signals recorded between the 2000 and 2002 seasons. This confirmed that the practice of filming signals from prohibited locations had been a long-standing operation. The Herald alleged that there was a ninth tape showcasing the Rams' private practice. Walsh met with Commissioner Roger Goodell on May 13, 2008, and explained that, while he and other employees were present during the Rams' walkthrough to set up equipment, no recording of the practice was actually ever made.
Because Walsh could not substantiate the existence of a walkthrough tape, Goodell announced that no further penalties would be leveled against the Patriots. Following these revelations, the Herald issued a formal apology and retracted its original story regarding the alleged walkthrough footage.
Initial accusation and discipline
On September 10, 2007, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was accused by the New York Jets of authorizing his staff to film the Jets' defensive signals from an on-field location, a violation of the National Football League's (NFL) rules. NFL Security confiscated the video camera used by video assistant Matt Estrella to film the signals during the game. Jets head coach Eric Mangini—a former Patriots assistant coach—had reported the fact that the Patriots were taping from the sidelines to NFL Security. Mangini later stated, "I didn't think it was any kind of significant advantage, but I wasn't going to give them the convenience of doing it in our stadium, and I wanted to shut it down. But there was no intent to get the league involved. There was no intent to have the landslide that it has become."
Two days later, Belichick issued a statement "to apologize to everyone who has been affected," and also stated that he spoke with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about Belichick's "interpretation of the rule." Belichick stated that he believed that if footage so collected was not used during the game, its collection was legal, as the NFL Constitution and Bylaws stipulate that "...any communications or information-gathering equipment, other than Polaroid-type cameras or field telephones, shall be prohibited...including without limitation...any other form of electronic devices that might aid a team during the playing of a game." In a September 2006 memorandum sent out by NFL Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson, though, all teams were told that "videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game."
Penalty and fines
On September 13, for the "use of equipment to videotape an opposing team’s offensive or defensive signals," Belichick was officially fined $500,000—the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the league's then-87-year history, and the maximum permitted under league rules. The Patriots were also fined $250,000, and stripped of their first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft; if the Patriots had missed the playoffs, they would have forfeited their second- and third-round selections instead. Goodell said that he fined the Patriots as a team because Belichick is effectively the team's general manager as well as head coach, and exercises so much control over the Patriots' on-field operations that "his actions and decisions are properly attributed to the club." Goodell considered suspending Belichick, but decided that taking away draft picks would be more severe in the long run. The Patriots officially clinched their fifth straight AFC East division title on November 25, making them the first NFL team since the 1971 Miami Dolphins to have a first-round pick taken away by league action.
The next day, Belichick issued a statement in which he apologized for what he called a "mistake" in his interpretation of the rules. However, he denied ever using videotape to gain an advantage while a game was underway, which Goodell also acknowledged.
On September 16, Goodell ordered the Patriots to hand over all notes, tapes, and other materials related to the incident, threatening further discipline if the Patriots did not comply. On September 20, the NFL announced it had received and destroyed the requested materials. In his pre-Super Bowl XLII press conference, Goodell revealed the contents of the materials, saying there were six tapes from late in the 2006 season and the 2007 preseason.
Initial response After footage from the actual tape was aired on Fox NFL Sunday on September 16, former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson claimed, "This is exactly how I was told to do it 18 years ago by a Kansas City Chiefs scout. I tried it, but I didn't think it helped us." Johnson also said, "Bill Belichick was wrong because he videotaped signals after a memo was sent out to all of the teams saying not to do it. But what irritates me is hearing some reactions from players and coaches. These players don't know what their coaches are doing. And some of the coaches have selective amnesia because I know for a fact various teams were doing this. That's why the memo was sent to everybody. That doesn't make [Belichick] right, but a lot of teams are doing this."
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula commented on the incident on November 6, when the Patriots themselves were seven wins away from a perfect regular season, saying: "The Spygate thing has diminished what they've accomplished. You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They've got it. ...I guess you got the same thing as putting an asterisk by Barry Bonds' home run record. I guess it will be noted that the Patriots were fined and a number-one draft choice was taken away during that year of accomplishment." Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour responded, saying "I really don’t pay too much attention to it...Nothing that I’ve done or I’ve seen this team do should have an asterisk by it." Safety Rodney Harrison also dismissed the comments: "It really doesn’t matter. We have a lot of respect for [Shula] and he’s entitled to whatever he thinks. It just doesn’t matter." After New England completed the regular season unbeaten, Shula commended the Patriots for doing "a great job of concentrating on each week's opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus."
In addition, beginning with the 2008 season, the NFL owners approved a rule that permitted defensive coach-to-player radio communications, mirroring the system used by the offense first implemented in 1994.
Congressional attention
On February 1, 2008, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (then R-PA), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, commented on the incident and the NFL's decision to destroy the video tape evidence in a New York Times article. Specter was quoted in a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as saying, "I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes." Specter also said he could call Goodell to attend a congressional hearing on the league's antitrust exemption, at which time Goodell would also be asked to comment on the destruction of the tapes received from the Patriots. Specter's true motivation for becoming involved with Spygate was brought into question by some due to the fact that Specter's largest campaign contributors were Comcast and its lobbyists, and at the time Comcast was in the middle of an acrimonious dispute with NFL Network over distribution fees.
In his annual Super Bowl press conference later on February 1, Goodell said he was "more than willing" to meet with Congress to explain his reasoning behind destroying the tapes, and added he didn't think the videotaping incident "tainted [the Patriots'] accomplishments." Goodell reiterated these beliefs in a January 31 memorandum to Specter while also adding that the NFL had no evidence the Patriots improperly taped the Eagles' signals during Super Bowl XXXIX.