Goodell: Spygate 'a factor' in new Patriots filming probe
Roger Goodell acknowledged Wednesday the NFL will consider Spygate while investigating the New England Patriots for a new videotaping controversy.
"Of course, that's a factor," the commissioner told reporters, according to Boston 25 News' Chad Amaral. "But I think the key things are the new information that we have. That information we, obviously, already had. I think the issue is, what information do we have from this incident?"
A three-person Patriots crew was spotted filming the Bengals' sideline Sunday during Cincinnati's game against the Cleveland Browns from the press box, which violated league rules. The NFL apparently confiscated the video, which reportedly contained eight minutes of sideline footage, and is investigating the matter.
In 2007, the Patriots were stripped of a first-round pick and fined $250,000 for illegally recording opponents' signals. Head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 for his role in the scandal, which was said to have begun in 2000.
Goodell was widely criticized after Spygate for his vague answers on what the league uncovered in its investigation and for disposing of the videotapes after announcing the discipline.
"We're going to be thorough and we're going to get all the facts and we'll go from there," Goodell said Wednesday when asked for a possible timeline on the new probe.
The Patriots claimed responsibility Monday for the infraction. They said the video crew was obtaining footage for its popular "Do Your Job" documentary series. Patriots employees received stadium credentials from the Browns before the game.
Belichick has been adamant that the video production crew operates independently of the football operations department.
The Patriots and Bengals will face each other in Week 15.