FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick today defended his controversial warrantless wiretapping program in a combative press conference, calling the practice “an essential tool in the war on other teams.”

“Those who would criticize this program simply fail to understand the state of the league as it exists today,” Belichick said, following six minutes of inscrutable mumbling. “There are teams out there that hate our way of life, our way of winning and are bent on defeating us. We must take any and all measures to avoid that outcome.”

Privacy experts and league officials have decried the practice as an unlawful invasion of personal rights. New York Jets rookie cornerback Darrelle Revis said, “This is a disgusting, unconstitutional act that borders on the Orwellian.” He then added, “Fuck.”

Yesterday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell determined that Belichick violated league policy when he authorized the FBI to tap the phones of the coaches of the other 31 NFL teams, as well as a few married women he was creeping with. The league also found he had installed a computer chip inside the brain of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning that causes him to see visions of M.C. Escher drawings.

Goodell said the Patriots could be fined multiple draft picks, likely a total cop-out with all the picks coming in the second day of the draft, as well as docking Patriots quarterback Tom Brady one weekly media suck-off. The Patriots immediately appealed the ruling and Brady pumped his fist menacingly in the direction of Goodell.

“The last thing this league needs is an activist commissioner trying to legislate from his cushy Manhattan office,” Belichick bristled. “If we are to maintain stability in this sport, it is imperative that the New England Patriots maintain its status as the lone power atop the NFL. If not, upstart teams like the Jets could plunge the league into chaos and we could find ourselves in a world where we wouldn’t know who would win the Super Bowl before the season even started.”

Photoshop courtesy Dan. V.