{
  "id": 9509841,
  "title": "‘Be better…’ Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald apologises to Broncos HC Sean Payton over spygate leak",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/be-better-seahawks-hc-mike-macdonald-apologises-to-broncos-hc-sean",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-24T07:03:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/better-seahawks-hc-mike-macdonald-070307944.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has apologized to Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton following the leak of a conversation where Macdonald accused Payton of spying on the Seahawks' training sessions. In an interview, Macdonald revealed that Payton accused him of using footage of Broncos training sessions that the Seahawks had accessed through shared fan-shared clips. Macdonald acknowledged that the footage of his comments was leaked, and he reached out to Payton to apologize for the public release of the conversation. He emphasized that the footage was never intended for public use and that he believed it was the right course of action to reach out and apologize to Payton. Macdonald acknowledged that it was a lesson learned and that he must take responsibility for what he says, whether he is mic'd up or not. He expressed respect for Payton's program and coaching abilities and looked forward to moving forward from the situation. Both coaches appear to have put the controversy behind them and chosen to move forward.",
  "summary": "With the recent controversy surrounding footage of Seattle Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald revealing a conversation he had with Denver Broncos HC Sean Payton, the former issued an apology. In a recent interview, Macdonald revealed that Payton accused him of spying on their training after he had used clips fans had shared from Broncos training sessions that the Seahawks used to prepare for them.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Payton says he and Macdonald are ‘good’ after Seahawks coach’s mic’d-up interview retells 2024 story",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/payton-says-he-and-macdonald-are-good-after-seahawks-coachs-micd-up",
        "published": "2026-09-23T23:07:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Mike Macdonald, Graham Bensinger address controversial Sean Payton interview clip",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/mike-macdonald-graham-bensinger-address-controversial-sean-payton",
        "published": "2026-09-24T04:03:59.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}