The Patriots and Jets had a tampering war a few years ago when it came to Darelle Revis, but tampering isn’t huge in the NFL — or at least it anecdotally doesn’t feel that way. It seems like there’s more tampering in the NBA between players and we know that Magic Johnson just loved to tamper. Well, the Patriots are back in the tampering headlines because they just filed tampering charges against the Houston Texans.
The Texans want Nick Caserio to be their general manager. The spot just opened up recently as the team fired Brian Gaine. The Patriots didn’t allow the Texans to interview Caserio the last time they settled on Gaine. They apparently didn’t give Houston clearance to speak to Caserio now. Something happened and now the Patriots could end up with draft pick compensation as punishment.
Let’s call a spade a spade here: the Patriots sure seem like they were dragging their feet when it came to the Texans and Caserio. They should have given the Texans permission if they were going to give them permission. If they weren’t going to do so and informed the Texans they weren’t going to allow it, then the Texans aren’t exactly the brightest bunch if they still reached out to Caserio. It’s that simple.
Now the case will go to the NFL high courts. The Patriots will have to prove that the Texans made contact with Caserio illegally. One must think they have proof before they even filed the complaint. It’s unfortunate for Caserio if he wants out of New England. Maybe he should’ve written his resignation letter on a napkin.
