ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The NFL fined the
Denver Broncos jerseys and coach Josh McDaniels $50,000 each because the team's video operations director filmed a San Francisco 49ers practice in London last month, breaking league rules.The NFL investigation determined Steve Scarnecchia took a six-minute video of the walkthrough and presented it that day to McDaniels. The coach declined to view it. Still, the NFL fined both the coach and team because the matter was not promptly reported, as required by the league.Scarnecchia was also involved in the NFL's last videotaping scandal, dubbed Spygate. After the Patriots were caught videotaping New York Jetscoaches sending in signals during a 2007 game, the league's investigation determined New England had violated rules over several seasons. Scarnecchia, who had left the Patriots by the time they were caught, was found to have taken part in the videotaping when he worked for the team in the early 2000s.
Scarnecchia was notified by commissioner Roger Goodell that,
NFL jerseys as a repeat violator of league rules regarding the integrity of the game, he faced a hearing to determine if he would be banned from the NFL."We certainly did not view or do anything with the footage, and he was made aware that it was something we didn't condone in our organization," McDaniels said Saturday. "I failed to follow through and report it to the proper individuals in our organization and with the league."Asked why he failed to report the incident immediately, McDaniels said: "I made a mistake. I made a mistake and I should have done that right away. We felt we handled it the right way by not doing anything with that but I did not follow through with it."
McDaniels also worked for New England, but NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash said there was no evidence he was involved with the videotaping there.The Broncos didn't report this latest incident to the NFL for nearly two weeks, and Scarnecchia remained employed by the team until mid-November. Two hours before the league announced the results of its investigation Saturday, the team said Scarnecchia was on a leave of absence. Later, it said he'd been fired.McDaniels, who worked in New England from 2001-09, hired Scarnecchia in Denver shortly after he became the Broncos' coach 22 months ago.
"When we hired Steve, it was with the understanding that he would come here and do good work," McDaniels said. "In no way did we think this situation or type of situation would come up and be an issue for us or for him."Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis said that when Scarnecchia was hired, the team was aware he had been involved in Spygate,
Cheap NBA Utah Jazz Jerseys, but not of the specifics.Ellis said the Broncos promptly notified the NFL after their executives learned of the violation. He declined to reveal how they became aware.
"The Denver Broncos, their ownership,
NFL jerseysand their executives had their moral compass pointed in the right direction," Pash said.He added: "I think they've set an example as to how incidents of this type are properly handled."The NFL determined Broncos executives were told about the videotaping Nov. 8, and told the league about it four days later after an internal review. On Nov. 16, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, Ellis and team general counsel Rich Slivka met with league officials in New York.After t
hat meeting, NFL security began its investigation, which included interviews of Broncos personnel and an analysis of laptop computers used by the team's video department. It was confirmed the 49ers' practice had been recorded, and the league retained that tape.