NFL fines Belichick, Patriots for spying

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday fined New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and the team a total of $750,000 US for videotaping defensive signals made by New York Jets' coaches.

The Patriots will also be forced to surrender a 2008 first-round draft pick if they make the playoffs this season, and second- and -third-round selections if they fail to qualify.

Belichick was ordered to pay the maximum NFL fine of $500,000, while the team must shell out $250,000.

"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field," Goodell said in a letter to the Patriots.

On Sunday, NFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from a team employee accused of pointing his camera in the direction of the Jets' defensive coaches as they signalled plays to their players on the field.

ESPN.com confirmed Goodell viewed the tape and determined the Patriots, who beat New York 38-14, violated league rules on Tuesday.

Last season, the Green Bay Packers accused a man sporting Patriots staff credentials of carrying a video camera along their sideline.

Game's outcome stands

Goodell will not reverse the outcome of Sunday's game.

Although he contemplated suspending Belichick, Goodell said, he decided against it "largely because I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and therefore more effective, than a suspension."

The Patriots — who remained Super Bowl favourites after adding receiver Randy Moss and linebacker Adalius Thomas in the off-season — still have another 2008 first-round pick obtained from San Francisco.

League rules stipulate "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game" and that all video or coaching purposes must be taken from locations "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead."

The NFL sent a memo on Sept. 6, the same day the league kicked off its season in Indianapolis, to coaches and general managers to re-emphasize the rule.

"Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game," wrote Ray Anderson, the league's executive vice president of football operations.

While Goodell believes Patriots owner Robert Kraft was unaware of Belichick's actions, he said he still fined the team because "Belichick not only serves as the head coach but also has substantial control over all aspects of New England's football operations. His actions and decisions are properly attributed to the club."

NFL coaches have long been suspected of spying on their opponents. The late George Allen of the Washington Redskins would order a security man into the woods near the team's practice facility because he suspected opposing teams of spying.

Some coaches, such as Seattle's Mike Holmgren and Philadelphia's Andy Reid, try to combat potential spying by covering their mouths when calling plays from the sideline.