Friday, Sep 14, 2007 01:29 PM

Dungy on spying: A 'Sad day for the NFL'

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy called it a "sad day for the NFL" after the rival New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick were fined for using a video camera to spy on opposing coaches.

"It's another case of the 99 percent good things that are happening being overshadowed by 1 percent bad," Dungy said after practice Friday. "Again, people aren't talking about our product, they're talking about a negative incident."

The NFL fined Belichick $500,000 on Thursday, and the Patriots were docked $250,000 and a first-day draft pick next year. It was the biggest fine ever for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round draft pick has been confiscated as a penalty.

He had declined comment earlier in the week, saying he would wait to see what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would do.

Dungy wouldn't say whether he thought the spying tarnished the Patriots' reputation, nor would he say that it affected his opinion of Belichick as a coach. When asked if he thought the Patriots had spied on the Colts, he said the situation was simply about breaking the rules.

The Colts and Patriots have had one of the NFL's most intense rivalries in recent years. They have met seven times since Indianapolis moved from the AFC East in 2002. New England won the first four, including the AFC championship game in 2004. The Colts have won the last three, including the AFC championship game last season.