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Dungy: Patriots Spying Scandal 'Sad Day For NFL'
POSTED: 1:55 pm EDT September 14, 2007
UPDATED: 5:35 am EDT September 15, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Dungy said only time will tell whether accusations of cheating will tarnish the public's opinion of fellow head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick and his New England Patriots were fined Thursday for using a videocamera to spy on opposing coaches. Now, Belichick's coaching success, which includes three Super Bowl championships in six years, could be questioned by fans, Dungy said.
"We seem to have tarnished Barry Bonds," the Colts coach said after practice Friday. "We've pointed out that, even though he's a great player and he's hit a lot of home runs, because of what some people that work around him have done, it seems to have tarnished him in the court of public opinion.
Whether Belichick's legacy would suffer similar damage, Dungy said, "We'll see."
On Thursday, the NFL fined Belichick $500,000, and the Patriots were docked $250,000 and a first-day draft pick next year. It was the biggest fine ever for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round pick has been confiscated as a penalty.
Dungy said the league doesn't need scandals like this one.
"Really, sad day for the NFL," he said. "It's another case of the 99 percent good things that are happening being overshadowed by 1 percent bad. Again, people aren't talking about our product, they're talking about a negative incident."
Tony Dungy
Dungy had declined comment earlier in the week, saying he would wait to see what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would do. When asked if he thought the Patriots had spied on the Colts, he said the situation was simply about breaking the rules.
"I can't really worry about what other people are doing," he said. "I think everybody takes precautions with their signals."
The Colts and Patriots have had one of the NFL's most intense rivalries in recent years. They have met seven times since Indianapolis moved from the AFC East in 2002. New England won the first four, including the AFC championship game in 2004. The Colts have won the last three, including the AFC championship game last season.
Dungy said he feels sorry for owner Bob Kraft, because everything the Patriots do will be under extra scrutiny.
"He's going to have to answer questions all the time, from here on out," Dungy said. "When headsets go wrong, he's going to have to answer if it's something that just happened or is this planned. There's bad grass everywhere, but when the grass doesn't grow up there, he's going to be asked about it, and that's too bad."
Dungy said the rules about videotaping are clear.
"I don't think videotaping is commonplace," he said. "We all got memos. We all know the rules. I've never heard of anybody videotaping anything."
POSTED: 1:55 pm EDT September 14, 2007
UPDATED: 5:35 am EDT September 15, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Dungy said only time will tell whether accusations of cheating will tarnish the public's opinion of fellow head coach Bill Belichick.
Belichick and his New England Patriots were fined Thursday for using a videocamera to spy on opposing coaches. Now, Belichick's coaching success, which includes three Super Bowl championships in six years, could be questioned by fans, Dungy said.
"We seem to have tarnished Barry Bonds," the Colts coach said after practice Friday. "We've pointed out that, even though he's a great player and he's hit a lot of home runs, because of what some people that work around him have done, it seems to have tarnished him in the court of public opinion.
Whether Belichick's legacy would suffer similar damage, Dungy said, "We'll see."
On Thursday, the NFL fined Belichick $500,000, and the Patriots were docked $250,000 and a first-day draft pick next year. It was the biggest fine ever for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round pick has been confiscated as a penalty.
Dungy said the league doesn't need scandals like this one.
"Really, sad day for the NFL," he said. "It's another case of the 99 percent good things that are happening being overshadowed by 1 percent bad. Again, people aren't talking about our product, they're talking about a negative incident."
Tony Dungy
Dungy had declined comment earlier in the week, saying he would wait to see what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would do. When asked if he thought the Patriots had spied on the Colts, he said the situation was simply about breaking the rules.
"I can't really worry about what other people are doing," he said. "I think everybody takes precautions with their signals."
The Colts and Patriots have had one of the NFL's most intense rivalries in recent years. They have met seven times since Indianapolis moved from the AFC East in 2002. New England won the first four, including the AFC championship game in 2004. The Colts have won the last three, including the AFC championship game last season.
Dungy said he feels sorry for owner Bob Kraft, because everything the Patriots do will be under extra scrutiny.
"He's going to have to answer questions all the time, from here on out," Dungy said. "When headsets go wrong, he's going to have to answer if it's something that just happened or is this planned. There's bad grass everywhere, but when the grass doesn't grow up there, he's going to be asked about it, and that's too bad."
Dungy said the rules about videotaping are clear.
"I don't think videotaping is commonplace," he said. "We all got memos. We all know the rules. I've never heard of anybody videotaping anything."