Washington Commanders owner denies allegations he hired private investigators to follow other NFL owners
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The owner of New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans NBA teams on Thursday denied the New York Times and other news organizations’ allegations that he hired private investigators to look into the affairs of other NFL owners.
NFL owners are accused by the Times and others of making secret recordings and keeping tabs on their club’s owner meetings by paying investigators in the sports industry, a practice known as “taping it.”
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NFL owners have denied the allegations and said privately they’ve never been taping meetings.
One of the Saints’ most prominent owners said in a statement that the Times article is “nothing more than a selective, one-sided grab at headlines and sensationalism designed to further their agenda.”
A message seeking comment from the NFL was not immediately returned Thursday.
The Times on Thursday night posted an online article detailing “two new allegations of taping and blackmail against owners of football and basketball teams.”
One of the incidents took place during a meeting last November where the Saints owner allegedly had his taping device hidden under a seat in his suite.
Investigators have said the Saints owner later was called into a meeting with then-Saints chief operating officer Mickey Loomis and told to “do something to stop the tape on that meeting.”
The story also said that the Saints owner later received $5,000 after taping meetings and then later tried to cover it up with payments from the club’s attorneys.
It also said that another incident involved an alleged taped meeting between the Saints owner and former Saints vice president of business operations, Kevin Demoff, when Loomis said Demoff had to do something to stop the tape.
The Times said the Saints owner allegedly taped some future meetings during the first year of his ownership. He was also allegedly recorded at a meeting involving his then-Chief