Saints deny report alleging eavesdropping
New Orleans Saints' general manager Mickey Loomis arrives for a meeting at NFL headquarters in New York. (April 5, 2012) Credit: AP
NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints denied an anonymously sourced ESPN report Monday that alleges that general manager Mickey Loomis' booth in the Superdome was wired so he could listen to opposing coaches' radio communications during games.
ESPN could not determine if the system was ever used. The report on Monday's "Outside the Lines" said Loomis would have been able to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002 to 2004. The report also said the system was disabled in 2005 when the Superdome was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Saints spokesman Greg Bensel called the report "1,000 percent false'' and added: "We asked ESPN to provide us evidence to support their allegations and they refused. The team and Mickey are seeking all legal recourse regarding these false allegations."
Loomis explained his use of an earpiece and described his game-day setup in the Superdome booth in an emailed statement. "I have a monitor in front of me in my booth that provides the league-issued stats for the game," Loomis said. "I have a small TV with the network broadcast and I have an earpiece to listen to the WWL-AM radio game broadcast.
"To think I am sitting in there listening and actually . . . doing something with the offensive and defensive play calls of the opposing teams makes this story and the unnamed sources that provided the false information that much more less credible. It just didn't happen."
Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was the Saints' head coach from 2000 through 2005. In a comment the Saints forwarded to the AP by email, Haslett denied knowledge of any system that would have allowed for eavesdropping on opponents.
"At no time during my tenure as head coach with the New Orleans Saints did Mickey and I discuss monitoring opposing team coaches' communication, nor did I have any knowledge of this," Haslett said. "To my knowledge, this concept was never discussed or utilized."
If the Saints had installed a system allowing them to listen in on their opponents, it would have violated NFL rules and also could have infringed on federal wiretapping laws.
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