Report: Patriots suspend videographer caught taping Bengals' sideline

Steve Gardner | USA TODAY

The videographer who broke NFL rules by filming the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline in Cleveland last week has been suspended by the New England Patriots.

The Boston Globe reports Dave Mondillo, a longtime employee of Patriots owner Robert Kraft's sports and entertainment company, was suspended last week after the incident became public.

NFL rules prevent teams from filming opponents' sidelines during games. Mondillo was caught doing so during the first quarter of the Bengals-Browns game last Sunday, a week before the Patriots played the Bengals.

Fox Sports aired a portion of the video, which included audio of a confrontation with a Bengals security official, on its "Fox NFL Sunday" pregame show.

The Pats acknowledged breaking the rules, but claimed the independent film crew was unaware its actions violated league policy.

"The production crew is independent of our football operation. While aware that one of the scouts was being profiled for a 'Do Your Job' episode, our football staff had no other involvement whatsoever in the planning, filming or creative decisions made during the production of these features," the team said in a statement.