Here's What Bill Belichick Has to Say About Patriots' Fine for Videotaping Scandal

Belichick is putting the harsh punishment in the rear-view mirror as the 2020 season is underway.

The NFL decided to lay the hammer down on the New England Patriots this offseason - albeit in a very delayed fashion - for their actions involved in the organization's film crew illegally videotaping the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline during their December game against the Cleveland Browns last season. 

The penalty administered to the six-time Super Bowl champions didn't come until the same day the team signed quarterback Cam Newton - June 28 - and the penalty was a $1.1 million fine, a loss of a 2021 third-round draft pick and New England's television crew will not be allowed to shoot any games during the 2020 season. 

Even if the rest of us believe the penalty didn't match the crime, especially because football operations had nothing to do with the crime, head coach Bill Belichick is moving forward and controlling what he can control. 

"Yeah, well, I think that obviously the league had a long investigation on that, but really we’re just looking ahead and we have a lot of things in front of us here, especially getting ready for the season and all that," Belichick said Friday during a video conference with the media. "We’ve moved on and we’ll deal with what we have to deal with in front of us here and just let everything go in the rear-view mirror and move ahead."

One has to think Belichick was beside himself when he heard about the punishment being administered to the organization for that incident. Once again, the league - specifically Roger Goodell - has decided to penalize the team more harshly than they deserve. Unfortunately, their punishment likely had to do with their reputation, ie SpyGate. Although that happened a long time ago, the league has kept a close on the team since then. And while the league isn't right in punishing the Patriots' football operations based on reputation, at the end of the day Goodell has the final verdict, and that's what he decided to do. 

Consider it another chip to add to the shoulders of the Patriots organization as they seek out their seventh championship.