An ESPN report claims that National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell covered up the New England Patriots’ cheating for years—even when the team videotaped hand signals of opponents over 40 games from 2000 to 2007. The report then claims that Goodell slammed Tom Brady for last season’s ball-deflation scandal with harsh consequences as a “a makeup call” for the sign-stealing controversy known as Spygate. It concludes that Goodell’s lax treatment of the Patriots was due to his close relationship with team owner Robert Kraft—who strongly backed his bid for commissioner—and that his handling of Deflategate won him the backing of other owners. The Patriots denied the allegations in a statement issued Monday, saying the team had never videotaped another team’s “practice or walkthrough.”
