We need new names for our scandals, America.
President Donald Trump lashed out at the FBI early Wednesday morning on Twitter, responding to reports that the bureau used a confidential source within Trump’s campaign to determine whether his aides were colluding with the Russians during the 2016 presidential election.
This controversy has nothing to do with the sports world — or least it didn’t until Trump decided to label it with a familiar moniker.
Sound familiar, New England Patriots fans?
The Patriots’ “Spygate” scandal refers to a 2007 incident in which New England head coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and lost a first-round draft pick after the Patriots were caught filming the New York Jets’ defensive signals from an unauthorized location.
Yet Trump’s tweet usurped the Patriots’ scandal as the country’s No. 1 “Spygate,” forcing it to be re-branded as “Spygate (NFL).”
The political scandal is no laughing matter, but that didn’t stop the internet from making a few obvious jokes at the Patriots’ expense.
Mostly, the sports world just wants Trump — who has close ties to the Patriots — to clear up the name confusion.
Alas, what’s done is done, and Patriots fans will have to deal with that one annoying Jets fan making Spygate references for the considerable future.