The New York Jets are so worried about what the New England Patriots are doing off the field that it’s no wonder why they have so much trouble defeating Tom Brady and Co. on it.
According to an email obtained by Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on Saturday, the Jets raised concerns about two Kraft Sports employees during the third quarter of their Oct. 25 loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“Jets Security Director Robert Mastroddi made an inquiry with NFL Security regarding the presence of two individuals wearing headsets and Patriots attire, who were positioned outside of the bench area on the Patriots sideline,” the email states. “Mastroddi requested to know who they were, and expressed concern given their proximity to the Patriots bench.”
That led to what a source told the Boston Herald on Friday was an unprecedented interrogation of the employees by the NFL. The email obtained by Florio identified Lenny Bandy and Dick Farley as the NFL Security officials who handled the Week 7 investigation.
Mastroddi, per Florio, was told that one of the Kraft Sports employees “is responsible for keeping fresh batteries in the referee’s in-stadium microphone.” Mastroddi didn’t believe it, and when he pressed further, Bandy called the NFL office and “confirmed that the referee’s in-stadium microphone is handled by the teams, not by the league.”
Basically, it appears Mastroddi had very little knowledge of game day operations or was so determined to catch the Patriots in the act of cheating that he was willing to point out almost anything he believed looked suspicious to the league.
This wasn’t the only incident stemming from the Patriots-Jets game. The Jets also reportedly requested that the NFL sweep the visitors locker room at Gillette Stadium for listening devices prior to kickoff. The Patriots, unsurprisingly, were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
