Everything you need to know about the latest Patriots’ cheating allegations
![EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is seen during warm ups prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - OCTOBER 21: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is seen during warm ups prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on October 21, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/32a918e9d67ef8806ac01db310af666d3dfdbdb4af4d13f972854f8446b8b3ec.jpg)
The Patriots are being accused of videotaping the Bengals this weekend, but this is what is actually happened.
The New England Patriots are facing scrutiny amidst allegations that arose Sunday from the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The Patriots’ had a scout, followed by a production team, at the game in preparation for the team’s match up against the Bengals this upcoming weekend, and were cleared by the Browns to bring their production team along. The reason for the production team is for the filming of the blind the scene series, “Do Your Job” which the Patriots have filmed for four years now and release after years they win the Super Bowl. The reason for the scout was being followed by cameras is to get insight into what the Patriots’ scouts are looking for when they are trying to prepare for any given team.
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Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between the scout and his film crew, and the Cincinnati Bengals and NFL. The Bengals and the NFL said they were not aware that the Patriots were doing this, therefore the allegations of cheating started to pour in. It’s undeniable that New England’s track record is the main reasoning why this is snowballing into more than just a simple miscommunication. Sources say, the Patriots have eight minutes of film where the camera is pointed at the Bengals’ sideline, and was able to pick up on their signals from the angle. New England handed over the footage after being confronted at the stadium and have cooperated fully with the NFL in its’ investigation. They also released a statement that had a few sentences that also raised some eyebrows.
Statement from the New England Patriots. pic.twitter.com/rhXdwVvnr8
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 10, 2019
“we accept full responsibility for the actions of our production crew at the Browns-Bengals game”.
This sentence is being interpreted by some that the Patriots are admitting they were cheating and using the film crew as a cover to get access in the game, which is complete nonsense. Was there a miscommunication? Yes. Do we really believe that the New England Patriots were using their very real doc-series”Do Your Job” as a cover to film hands signals of the 1-12 Bengals? No. At the end of the day, people are going to point the finger and pray this spirals into the Patriots being busted for cheated when it’s simply not that. Ian Rapoport also reported as recent as Tuesday afternoon that the NFL is “inclined to believe the Patriots’ version of events” and are looking to be done with this whole investigation soon. The Patriots have a damaged reputation and have to live with that when things like this come up, but all boils down to is a simple miscommunication that snowballed into a witch hunt.