Jets players alert NFLPA about hidden locker room cameras at team facility

NEW YORK — Jets players are looking for help to put an end to a disturbing workplace that has included hidden cameras in the locker room for more than a decade.

The Daily News has learned that Jets players and their representatives alerted the NFL Players Association in recent weeks about what appeared to be surveillance equipment hidden in smoke detectors in the Jets locker room.

The NFLPA immediately informed the NFL in late October. The NFL claimed in the past week on behalf of the Jets that cameras have been in and adjacent to the locker room since 2008 when the team relocated from Long Island to a new training facility in Florham Park, N.J., according to sources. The league concluded that players were aware of the cameras, and thus, the cameras were compliant with league rules, sources said.

A league spokesperson informed the Daily News that the league responded directly to the union, and no further action is required by the Jets.

If that is the case, why are Jets players surprised to learn of the cameras, and why did they reach out to the union seeking relief?

The Daily News spoke to a number of current and former Jets players, including those on the 2008 team that moved into the new workspace. All of them said that they were unaware that cameras were in the locker room. None of the players recalled team officials informing them of cameras in the locker room. None of them consented to be videotaped in what is considered a private space.

“I’m pissed,” one former player said. “That’s our space. Why would you have a camera in there? That’s bulls—.”

The Jets — through the league — insist that the cameras are in the locker room for internal security purposes, according to sources.

A New Jersey statute addressing the filming of people who are partially or fully naked was enacted in 2016.

It reads, in part: “An actor commits a crime of the third degree if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he photographs, films, videotapes, records, or otherwise reproduces in any manner, the image of another person whose intimate parts are exposed or who is engaged in an act of sexual penetration or sexual contact, without that person’s consent and under circumstances in which a reasonable person would not expect to be observed.”

Those whose “intimate parts” have been videotaped without their consent can pursue civil actions for monetary relief. The legality of the cameras would depend on whether or not an NFL locker room could be considered a place where “a reasonable person would not expect to be observed,” and how “observed” is defined.
For their part, the Jets believe they are in compliance with state law.

Through a spokesperson, the Jets said, ‘We are aware of the situation, and will have no further comment at this time.”

No Jets former or current player reached for this story recalled signing a consent form about locker room surveillance. It’s highly unlikely that the union would agree to it anyway.

The NFL and NFLPA agreed to stricter COVID-19 protocols last month to ensure that team personnel adhered to safety measures to reduce the risk of infections.

Additional video surveillance was implemented in common/public areas at team facilities. The use and placement of cameras at team facilities was a bargained addendum between the league and union.

However, there is no provision in the Collective Bargaining Agreement about placing cameras in private areas like the locker room or showers/bathroom. It’s highly unlikely that the union would sign off on cameras or audio devices in those areas for myriad reasons.

Jets players were told in a meeting earlier this year to make sure that they wore masks and league-mandated GPS tracking vests inside the facility, a source said. Players were informed that they were being monitored on team grounds. A team official obfuscated when the player asked if surveillance extended to the locker room. Players were left to wonder without a definitive answer.

The union and players are troubled by the Jets’ unilateral decision to place hidden cameras in smoke alarms in the locker room, according to sources. The union is determining whether to file a grievance or lean on New Jersey employee privacy rights laws to remove the cameras, sources said.

A NFLPA spokesman declined comment this week.

The team has signed more than 20 players since the start of training camp in late July. It is unclear whether any of those players have been notified by a team official that there are cameras in the locker room.

The News obtained a photo of the video surveillance equipment inside the locker room that appears to include a small camera embedded in a smoke detector on the ceiling. The device looks exactly like a widely available model of “professional covert security camera.”

The Jets contend that players have asked for security footage in the past to track down lost items in the locker room, according to a source. Each player has a mini-safe with a unique PIN in his locker to ensure that private items such as jewelry, wallets and phones are protected.

No player reached for this story recalled a teammate asking for surveillance footage. Some players were angry upon learning that there was an eye in the sky while they’re in a private space changing in and out of their clothes.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2GIcNXo