September 11, 2015 - The 2015 NFL season is only a day old and already the New England Patriots are embroiled in another controversy.
During their season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium, Steelers' coaches were complaining that instead of being able to communicate to each other on their headsets, they got an earful of New England’s radio announcers Bob Socci and Scott Zolak.
This went on for the majority of the first half until the problem was finally fixed. According to the NFL, the malfunction was caused by “a stadium power infrastructure issue, which was exacerbated by the inclement weather.” The equipment is provided to each team on game day by the league.
Oddly enough, when an NFL official went down to the field to check the Steelers’ headsets, they were working properly. But as soon as he left, the problem returned.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was not surprised by the malfunction, saying after the game that it has been a reoccurring issue in New England.
Since the Steelers’ headset issues were intermittent and not a total loss, the Patriots were not required to shut down their equipment, but Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said his staff experienced some glitches as well and had to change headsets several times.
By they way, the Patriots won, 28-21.
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