Spygate (NFL)

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...