PATS 'SPY' READY TO ROLL TAPE

The former New England Patriots employee who supposedly has tapes of illegal spying by the team may be ready to give them up. (more)

More Sports Spying History

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the New York Jets were aware of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's videotaping shenanigans as far back as 2004.

Sources told the Daily News that Herm Edwards, then the Jets head coach, and his defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson not only noticed a camera aimed at them from the opposite sideline during a game between the Jets and Patriots, but they waved at it. (Does this constitute consent?)

The News' report also said the videotape was apparently one of six tapes Belichick turned over to the league that were subsequently destroyed by the order of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. (more)

But spying has always existed in football and other professional sports. A marvelous book, "The Echoing Green," documents how the 1951 New York Giants utilized a telescope to steal opposing catchers' signs — and relay them to the batters.

Papa Bear George Halas, it has been claimed, paid young men to listen to and film other teams' practices. The old Kansas City Chiefs were accused of being the worst spying offenders — by Al Davis, who was accused of bugging AFL teams' locker rooms. The Broncos purportedly had two spies a long time ago at a San Diego workout, writing plays on the inside of paper cups.

A former NFL coach told me at the recent Super Bowl in Arizona that his team cheated regularly. "We did everything you can imagine to get information on the teams we were playing. The more technology, the easier you can get stuff. It's common in the league," he said.

Belichick was caught.
Now, Congress is involved. (more)
"The weed of crime bears bitter fruit..."

NFL Spygate History - The Locker Room Spycams

Earlier this season (1999), a Jets defensive player went into a small room at the team's practice facility in Hempstead, N.Y., and was stunned by what he saw. Inside was a bank of video screens, he said, showing various parts of the complex. On one screen, to the player's surprise, was a view of the locker room. ...

''A lot of things around here have knocked me for a loop, but this is one of the biggest,'' said the defensive starter, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions. ''My first thought was, 'Has the team been spying on us?' ''

A spokesman for the Jets denied that the team uses video cameras for surveillance purposes...

A number of players, team executives and union officials believe putting hidden cameras in the locker room, the training room or other parts of the workplace is a good idea. Others believe that cameras are a violation of a player's privacy. (more)

Pop Quiz: Who was Bill Belichick working for in 1999?

The Penny Dropped. Let the Lawsuits Begin.

A former St. Louis Rams player and three fans sued the New England Patriots over allegations that the Patriots cheated in the 2002 Super Bowl by taping a Rams practice before the game.

Former Rams player Willie Gary and other plaintiffs are seeking millions of dollars of damages in their federal lawsuit, filed in New Orleans. The Patriots beat the Rams, 20-17, on a last-second field goal in the 2002 Super Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

Before the game, former Patriots employee Matt Walsh allegedly taped a walkthrough practice by the Rams. Walsh told The Associated Press last week during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that he couldn't comment on the allegations.

The lawsuit accuses the Patriots of fraud, unfair trade practices and engaging in a "pattern of racketeering."
(more) (Why is Sports Crime Different?) (other lawsuit) (more outrage) (moral)

Dirty Little Secrets: Corporate Espionage

BBC - Corporate espionage is as old as business itself. But today as technology develops, there has been an expansion of murky practices like phone bugging, computer hacking and secret filming.

The range of businesses that have relied on corporate espionage is breathtakingly wide.

• In the glamorous world of Formula One, McLaren was fined £50 million for spying on rival Ferrari.

• A waste tycoon who bugged the phones and hacked the computers of local residents and government officials investigating his company ended up going to prison.

• A builder and conservatory designer who was spied on by a larger rival lost his business and moved to Spain. (more)

Super Bowl Sunday ...and the fans go ballistic!

Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times kicks off...
Patriots: Just another American phony?
In our tangled world, is perfection even possible without a stain? Is anything believable, from airbrushed models to corrupted CEOs to the $125 Kobe steak flown in this morning from Japan? When we want to celebrate absolute flawlessness, won't there always be a zit on Jessica Alba's face, a tee-shot shank by Tiger Woods, a dent on the door of a Pagani Zonda Roadster?

This should be a singular night in history, the coronation of the New England Patriots as pro football's first 19-0 champion, which would further confirm them as an all-time American dynasty if not for a recurring problem. We're not sure if they've been honest about their business, making this the potential Enron of sports if all the gathering dirt doesn't come out in the eventual wash.

On the eve of what presumably was an unprecedented Super Bowl story line, new allegations surfaced about the Patriots and their illegal methods of gaining competitive edges via covert videotaping operations. You thought Snoop Dogg Belichick and his video spies cheated only once, last September? Turns out, according to a report in the Boston Herald, that the episode might have been merely Son of Spygate. (more)

The Boston Herald reported Saturday that the Patriots taped the Rams’ final walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI. (more)

Senator wants to know why NFL destroyed Patriots spy tapes
With the Super Bowl fast approaching, a senior Republican senator says he wants the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence from the New England Patriots cheating scandal.

"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., wrote Thursday in a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. (more, with video)

Forrmer Patriots video assistant hints at team's spying history
(more, with video)

History - September 22, 2007 - A long flash-to-bang.
"The Patriots have fully cooperated and complied with the requirements of the commissioner's decision," the (NFL) statement said. "All tapes, documents and other records relating to this matter were turned over to the league office and destroyed, and the Patriots have certified in writing that no copies or other records exist."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote that the reason for the destruction was "so that our clubs would know they no longer exist and cannot be used by anyone."

Aiello was also asked if there was evidence of the Patriots using the tactics in their Super Bowl wins. He declined to comment. (more)

From the Security Scrapbook files... (more)

Get the T-shirt.

China's Secret Police Target Britain's Sailors in Spying Row

"You don't need a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
Britain's Olympic sailing team have been targeted by the Chinese secret police for conducting "illegal meteorological surveys" at the 2008 Games' venue, Qingdao. The Royal Yachting Association, whose teams have been more successful than any other sports at the past two Olympics, set up a weather station in Qingdao to analyze the conditions that will influence August's races. But towards the end of 2006 the weather station, which cost £8,000, was confiscated by the Chinese authorities and has not been returned.

"With the approaching of the Beijing Olympics, foreign illegal meteorological surveys have emerged in several Olympic cities," said the official portal, China.org.cn. "Three cases involving the US, the UK and Australia have been reported since last year. Foreign violators installed illegal monitoring equipments (sic) under the auspices of pre-match preparation. (more)

Isiah Thomas doesn't deny 'spies' claim

NY - Perhaps he was worried that Big Brother was listening in, but an extremely cautious Isiah Thomas did not deny Larry Brown's damning contention that the Garden was a veritable spy nest during Brown's one season coaching the Knicks.

Finally breaking his silence on his disastrous season in New York, Brown told Philadelphia Magazine that "they had security people standing close to me in press conferences, and spies throughout the arena."

So welcome to another PR mess for the Knicks. When asked yesterday after practice if Brown had ever complained to him about the spies, Thomas - Brown's boss in 2005-06 - took a long pause, but never denied the charge when he said, choosing his words carefully, "I don't think we need to revisit any of that." (more)

Max Means Business

FIA president Max Mosley has revealed that any Formula One team caught spying in the future faces expulsion from the championship.

McLaren were fined £50million and kicked out of the 2007 constructors' championship by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council in September after they were found guilty of being in illegal possession of Ferrari technical data, but their drivers - Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - were allowed to retain their championship points and fight for the drivers' crown.

Mosley added: "In the case of McLaren everybody said 'oh, a hundred million dollars', but the alternative would have been to exclude them - and that would have been more expensive!" (more)

Hard Times for Sports Spies

No money for spying in Ghana, says Mulee...

Kenya - While coaches will be spying on rival teams at the African Nations Cup ahead of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Harambee Stars coach, Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, will remain at home with his local league champions Tusker FC.

When reached for comment, KFF secretary general, Sammy Obingo, admitted the federation could not afford Mulee’s trip to Ghana due to lack of funds... (more)

2008 - Year of the Mute

China will field about 800 athletes for the upcoming Olympics, and right now they are hard to find. Trying to keep distractions to a minimum - and fearful that opponents might be spying - China is shuttering away its top medal contenders. ..."We are now entering a period of silence," said Li Yongbo, coach of the national badminton team. (more)

AP striving for Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" Award

Belichick AP Coach of the Year despite spying fine
Patriots coach honored for second time (?!?!)

New England's undefeated season now includes yet another achievement: Bill Belichick is The Associated Press 2007 NFL Coach of the Year. ...

That was enough to offset the major blemish on Belichick's resume: a $500,000 personal fine, $250,000 fine for the team and the loss of a first-round pick in the upcoming draft after the Patriots were caught videotaping New York Jets coaches during the season opener. (more) (more)

Vendetta 2 - Ferrari vs. McLaren

vendetta - noun
1. A feud between two families or clans that arises out of a slaying and is perpetuated by retaliatory acts of revenge; a blood feud.
2. A bitter, destructive feud.

Ferrari still fuming over spy case...
Ferrari's senior management has made it clear that it remains far from happy about McLaren's handling of the spy affair - and especially their continued insistence they had done nothing wrong until a recent public letter of apology.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and company CEO Jean Todt both hit out at McLaren during a meeting with the Italian press, stating they were furious at the way their Woking-based rivals approached the FIA hearings into the spying affair.

Quoted by Corriere dello Sport, Todt said: "At the hearing McLaren came with 200 signatures of managers saying they never had access to the information.

"Then, three months later, when the FIA did its verifications, it was demonstrated that was completely false. They went corrupting their own personnel to make them sign false documentation. (more)

Ferrari Rewards Photocopy Employee Who Tipped Off F1 to Spy Scandal...
Montezemolo also revealed that the English photocopy shop employee, who alerted Ferrari about confidential information in McLaren's possession, has been invited to the team's Maranello factory. (more)

Top 10 Sports Spying Stories

...peeking into closed practices or electronically eavesdropping on coach/player meetings (as China allegedly did to Denmark during the Women's World Cup of soccer), that is cloak and dagger stuff.

Now, with the teams facing off this Sunday, here are 10 glaring examples of sports spying... (more)

Sunday isn't only Jets vs. Patriots.
It could be Spy vs. Spy.

According to league sources familiar with the situation, the Jets were caught using a videotaping device during a game in Foxborough last season that resulted in the removal of a Jets employee. After Gillette Stadium officials saw him using the recorder early in the game, he was told to stop and leave the area. He had been filming from the mezzanine level between the scoreboard and a decorative lighthouse in an end zone. The camera was not confiscated by the Patriots or stadium security.

Tuesday night the Jets admitted that they did videotape the game and their employee was confronted, but said they had permission from the Patriots to film from that location. (more)

Renault guilty of spying (?)

Former world champions Renault escaped punishment yesterday, despite being found guilty in the second major spying controversy to hit Formula One this year.

The French team's representatives had been summoned to appear before the governing body in Monaco to answer charges of unauthorized possession of McLaren technical information between September 2006 and last October.

"They were found to be in breach of article 151c but there is no penalty," a spokesman for the International Automobile Federation said after a World Motor Sport Council hearing lasting several hours. (more)

Football Spy Scotched - "Ooo, Behave!"

Scotland's preparations for the Hampden crunch with Italy were rocked by a sensational spying scandal.

Team boss Alex McLeish had to halt a closed door training session in Dumbarton when he spotted a mysterious onlooker on the roof of a white van using a camera to record his secret tactical workout.

McLeish had earlier been placed on alert by the Daily Record after we received a tip-off that an Italian would be trying to spy on the team at the Strathclyde Homes Stadium.

It was part of a sneaky attempt to uncover his match plan for Saturday's do-or-die European qualifier.

Daily Record photographer Phil Dye was also on the lookout for suspicious characters. "This really was a quite extraordinary set of events. It was like something out of Austin Powers. (more)

The Cautious Coachs of N.F.L. Football

The New York Times - The windows near the elevators on the 21st floor of the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel are fit for football espionage. The Giants’ practice field sits about a mile in the distance, past the maze of highway lanes and off-ramps, past the massive parking lots.

If a coach stands on that field and looks back at the hotel, all sorts of paranoid possibilities come to mind. Visions of men in disguises renting rooms, setting up telescopes and video cameras, and gleaning valuable information from the opposition. Over the years, Giants coaches were said to have sent security personnel to the hotel to conduct sweeps.* They were never reported to have found anything or anyone...

Murray Associates, a New Jersey company that provides eavesdropping protection, has been hired by several professional sports teams to ensure secure contract negotiations, said the company’s president, Kevin Murray. Three of the teams that hired Murray were N.F.L. teams — all within the past five years.

Murray said he believed espionage in sports was more prolific now, with so much money and fame at stake. And bugging an office “is easier now than at any time in history.” For example, Murray said, someone could stick a prepaid cellphone on the ceiling of an office, turn the ringer off and set the phone to auto-answer. Then that someone could listen from anywhere in the world.

“Some people sound on the paranoid side, but they’re really just normal people, following their instincts,” Murray said. “And usually, they’re correct. Coaches would be silly not to be checking.”

So coaches will continue to look for spies behind trees, in bushes, behind the wheel of the team bus. If you are not paranoid, they say, you are not paying attention.

The view from the Sheraton Meadowlands Hotel demonstrates how spying is possible, if not far-fetched. And for N.F.L. coaches, that is enough. (more)
* These sweeps were not conducted by Murray Associates.

Picking a Pickpocket's Pocket?

Renault accused of spying
Barely 24 hours after FIA experts swooped on the McLaren factory for a detailed technical check on the team's 2008 car, the rival Renault team found themselves propelled into the centre of controversy when they were summoned to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council to answer charges of spying. ...

These accusations come two months after McLaren were fined $100m and lost all their 2007 constructors' world championship points after it was established that they had benefited from illicitly obtained technical data from Ferrari. (more)

(update - 11/10/07)
The Renault formula one team yesterday rejected allegations of espionage after being summoned before the FIA's world motor sport council accused of illegally using McLaren data in the design of this year's car. The French team confirmed that a former McLaren engineer, who joined them in September last year, was suspended when it became clear he had brought confidential information with him to his new job. Renault named the employee as Phil Mackereth and said they had been made aware of the problem on September 6. "None of this information was used to influence design decisions relating to the Renault car," the statement said. (more)

Ferrari still seething over spy affair

Despite winning the world championship, Ferrari CEO Jean Todt admitted the 2007 season has been a painful one for the Italians, with the spy scandal hovering over the unexpected achievement. ...

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney is under criminal investigation in Italy for passing on confidential technical data from the Maranello-based outfit to McLaren's chief designer Mike Coughlan.

Todt said. "I wouldn't have expected this betrayal from one of ours, who for personal reasons wanted to help another team, and I didn't expect them (McLaren) to accept his help." (more)

First, Pro. Then, College. Now, High School.

FL - Collier County's prep edition of "Spygate'' may have been nothing more than a misunderstanding, or so the coaches at the heart of the mini-controversy claimed on Tuesday. ...

"Spygate'' was one of the names associated with the New England Patriots illegally videotaping sideline calls by opposing teams that the team was penalized for by the NFL earlier this season.

The accusations started flying on Saturday, when Albonizio and a few of his coaches confronted an elderly couple that they believed were filming his team's 44-14 win over McMahon for Naples. (more)

Colleges Take Spying As Serious Threat

OK - High fences. Seven security guards. No, this isn't the look of a low-security prison; it's daily protocol for safeguarding Oklahoma football practice from spies.

Six weeks ago, the New England Patriots made spying a national story, when the NFL punished coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots for spying on the New York Jets.

But long before, college coaches — especially at OU — have taken spying as a serious threat. (more)

Interesting observation...
Business executives (who have much more to lose) don't take spying as seriously as college athletic departments.

Bill Bellichick (aka Bill O. Check to some)

NJ - A disgusted Jets season ticket-holder went on the offensive against the New England Patriots over the infamous Videogate scandal.

Princeton lawyer Carl Mayer filed a class-action suit in Newark Federal Court against the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick because a video assistant filmed Jets coaches giving defensive signals last month. (more)

Bugby! or, Tapped By That Tough Guy

UK - A security consultant has come forward to admit he performed surveillance at Newcastle United.

The News of the World says Brian Tough was ordered to TAP PHONES of unhappy managers and players and even take SECRET FILM of England legend Alan Shearer that could be used against him if he tried to leave the club.

Tough revealed how he bugged:
- Kevin Keegan's calls to his wife to see if he was planning to quit as manager
- Sunderland's chairman Bob Murray - to find out secret plans for their new stadium
- The Editor of a local newspaper because he'd run knocking stories on the club, and even
- The butler of 74-year-old Newcastle president Sir John Hall.

In a shattering confession, Tough says: "At times I felt really bad about it, especially when I spied on our own players and senior staff. The players and fans would have gone mad if they had found out what I was up to." ...

Former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd said: "Tough did make me aware of what he had done but I did not condone it. I couldn't control what he did. He didn't work for me. I had nothing to do with bugging anybody." (more)

McLaren/Ferrari - Zero to Fiasco in Seconds

"With seemingly no end to the espionage saga, it now emerges that F1's governing body earlier this week contributed to the widespread distribution of dozens more McLaren and Ferrari secrets.

A day before releasing the nearly 200 pages of World Motor Sport Council transcripts to the public on Wednesday, the FIA had sent the documents to both teams so that confidential technical and financial information could be redacted.

But when the PDF documents were initially made available on the Internet, it soon became clear that the blackened sections could easily be revealed if copy-pasted into another text editor.

The offending copies were quickly removed from the FIA website and replaced."
(via Ben Moore - Risks Digest 24.83)

Don't puck with "Mr. Hockey" (update)

Gordie Howe has reached a compromise in his lawsuit against a spying neighbour who has been conducting surveillance on the hockey legend's home.

After three hours of closed-door negotiating, Howe told Oakland County Circuit Judge Edward Sosnick he would drop his lawsuit if Lionel and Karen Dorfman stop snooping on him. (more)

Two-Way Mirror, Cameras - Spying Accusations

China - An accusation of spying has stirred intrigue at the Women’s World Cup.

The day before their match with China, Denmark team officials found two men with video cameras sitting behind a two-way mirror in the hotel conference room where the team was about to hold a strategy meeting.

“It’s like a spy movie,” the Danish team press officer Pia Schou Nielsen said. She said the men were Chinese, although Denmark Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller told reporters he did not know what nationality the men were. ...

It was not clear who the men with the video cameras were, but they were taken away by the police, Danish officials said. FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, said in a statement Thursday that it and the Danish team decided not to pursue the case. (more)

Don't puck with "Mr. Hockey"

Gordie Howe has won a temporary restraining order barring a neighbour from conducting surveillance on the hockey legend's home.

Howe, 79, who has been the subject of a residential association dispute for more than a year, says he's tired of being spied on.

The former Detroit Red Wings star and his wife, Colleen, on Tuesday filed an eight-count stalking lawsuit in Oakland County. The Howes claim Lionel and Karen Dorfman, a retired couple in their 70s, have engaged in unlawful eavesdropping and invasion of privacy for more than a year.

The Howes allege the Dorfmans have had a camera snapping photos of their house every five seconds - more than 17,000 photos a day. (more)

UPDATE
Hockey great Gordie Howe won a temporary restraining order barring a neighbour from conducting surveillance on his home. (more)

Why Is Sports Crime Different?

Professional sports are not just 'sports'. Sports are businesses, big businesses. Each team is a corporation. Their profits rise and fall on their successes and failures - just like any other business.

When a team executive spies for competitive advantage that team is stealing money from the losing opponent. This is a crime.

How much money are we talking about here?

Take the Super Bowl for example. Heck, take three Super Bowls. Winning via fraud can add up. Denny Hatch estimated three Super Bowl wins adds up to about $1.7 million!

Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots football coach, coincidentally 'led' his team to three Super Bowl victories. He was caught spying on his opponents. He was fined $500,000 (tax deductible) - approximately 12% of his yearly salary. He wasn't fired from his job. He wasn't suspended from even one game.

Is Belichick appealing the decision? No. Just a cost of doing business, I guess.

The McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team was fined $100 million this month for their little espionage caper against Ferrari. Are they appealing the decision? No. Cost of doing business?

Compare 'Sports' business to conventional business...
• A federal judge ignored a former Coca-Cola secretary’s tearful plea for mercy and sentenced her to eight years in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets from the world’s largest beverage maker. U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester told Joya Williams, 42, that he was giving her a longer sentence than recommended by federal prosecutors and sentencing guidelines because, “This is the kind of offense that cannot be tolerated in our society.”
• Kenneth Lay, former Chairman of Enron, lost his job, faced a decades-long prison term for his fraud and died of a heart attack. Jeffrey Skilling, Enron's former CEO, is currently serving a 24-year, 4-month prison sentence.
• Hewlett-Packard's spy scandal: Carly Fiorina, former CEO, fired.
• Wal-Mart's spy scandal: Bruce Gabbard, security employee, fired.

Unlike Belichick and the McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team 'Wacky Racers', none of the conventional business folks are out there 'enjoying the game' any more.

So, why is stealing money in the sports world treated differently?
What messages does this send to our children?
~Kevin

Headline of the Week

"If You're Not Spying, You're Not Trying"
by George Solomon, Sports Columnist, The Washington Post
(from an article in which he discusses football spying)

National Football League will check on taping, radios, spying devices

The NFL is continuing to monitor spying devices after the penalties levied by commissioner Roger Goodell against the New England Patriots.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Sunday that new memos on both videotaping and electronic surveillance of signals have gone out to all 32 teams reminding them of bans on the various types of surveillance.

''It's nothing new,'' Aiello said. ''We just want to remind people how the rules work.'' (more)

Spy Claims Rock Women's World Cup

Denmark, ranked five places higher than China at six in the world, are understood to be fuming after rumours they were spied on during tactical sessions behind a two-way mirror wall.

It is understood Denmark had taken photos to provide evidence of the spying but had the camera stolen, and it all came to a head after the dramatic finish to the match when a member of the Denmark staff allegedly punched a Chinese counterpart.

New Zealand, who are in the same group, had been informed of spies at training sessions in Auckland before the World Cup and claim since arriving in China they have regularly been spied on at closed sessions. (more)

McLaren fined $100m for spying

The McLaren-Mercedes Formula One team was on Thursday night fined $100m – a sum unprecedented in sport – and thrown out of this year’s F1 constructors’ championship by motor sport’s top judicial body.

The FIA World Motor Sport Council took the action after finding the Anglo-German team, which until Thursday night led the competition, guilty of fraudulent behaviour relating to a technical dossier belonging to rival Ferrari which was found in the possession of a senior employee.

In a further humiliation for both the McLaren team and DaimlerChrysler, which owns a 40 per cent stake, the council ruled that McLaren’s cars for the 2008 season would be assessed by independent inspectors to establish whether any secrets contained in the 780-page document had been utilised. (more)

Belichick Fined; Patriots Will Lose Pick

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been fined the league maximum of $500,000, and the team has been ordered to pay $250,000 for illegally taping the New York Jets' sidelines during last Sunday's 38-14 win at the Meadowlands. (Belichick was warned last season when his spy cameraman, Matt Estrella, was caught on the sidelines in Green Bay.) ...

The Jets coach looked beyond paranoid when he put a paper shredder in the locker room to destroy practice plans. Somehow, that almost seems like a smart precaution now. If the Patriots are brazen enough to do this on the road, imagine what they're doing at home. The next team that travels to Foxboro should leave their special teams at home and bring CSI on the trip to sweep for bugs.

Think we're kidding? It's already happening. Kevin Murray, who runs a counter-espionage firm in Oldwick, has been hired by several NFL teams to secure team offices during sensitive contract negotiations. "I don't think they're paranoid," Murray said. "Just cautious." (