After a month of reviewing the New England Patriots’ videotaping of the Cincinnati Bengals’ sideline, there is still no evidence that links it to Bill Belichick, according to a report from Mark Maske of The Washington Post.
Belichick denied any involvement in the videotaping and the Patriots immediately released a statement, saying they would be in full cooperation with the NFL. Maske reported that the punishment will be minor and that there’s no evidence that the Patriots had a competitive advantage from the videotaping.
Here’s a passage from the article:
The league’s investigation of the latest video incident involving the Patriots is winding down and could be completed as soon as this week, according to those people. They said it remains likely at this point, barring the last-minute uncovering of more damaging evidence, that the NFL will impose penalties consistent with those handed out in recent years in other cases of game-day infractions.
That would mean that the Patriots probably would be facing a fine in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and possibly the loss or reduction in value of a draft pick.
It is not clear, however, when the NFL will announce a decision. Once NFL security officials complete their investigation and submit their findings, Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league leaders still must review those findings, decide whether to conduct additional interviews, deliberate over the potential penalties and determine when to announce the ruling.
But there is no indication at this point that Belichick or the Patriots’ football staff has been tied to the video or that the investigation has uncovered evidence of a sustained, organized effort by the Patriots to gain a competitive on-field advantage, according to those people with knowledge of the case.
Although the official statement hasn’t been released by the NFL, it appears that Belichick and his staff are in the clear in this incident.
