So for anyone who does not read the sports pages, the Jets got crushed by the Patriots on Sunday 38-14 but there was an interesting side note to report. Apparently the Patriots were accused of videotaping opposing team’s coaches (including the Jets) and were fined a total of $750,000 as punishment for this practice. Story can is here.
This story is interesting in that we saw the NFL move quickly to police its own and to punish unacceptable behavior, regardless if it was due to an incorrect “interpretation of a rule in the Constitution and Bylaws” of the NFL. A lot of credit needs to go to Roger Goodell (NFL Commissioner) who moved out on this issue and quickly punished the Patriots and Coach Belichick who should be ashamed. Great opinion article here in the Sporting News.
But I agree with Nick Canepa writing online for the Union Tribune out of
“Goodell almost got it right. He reportedly has fined Belichick $500,000 and the New England Patriots $250,000 more for taping defensive signals by Jets coaches during last Sunday's game.”
But Canepa continues:
“His answer should have been: no mercy. Put Belichick in the NFL's hoosegow, its gray-bar hotel, its slammer, its brig, its stir. Shawshank this cheat”
In other words, a monetary punishment has no real effect in the NFL that has a lot of cash to throw at penalties such as those imposed by Goodell. A better punishment would have been suspension of Belichick who has been around the NFL in a variety of jobs for sometime and should know better than this. To try and excuse this behavior with a wimpy statement like misreading the NFL bylaws is probably acceptable for a rookie but not a veteran coach like Belichick.
The Patriots should be better than this as they are a real contender for another trip to the Super Bowl this season and I would have preferred a tougher stance from the NFL leadership in this regard. Simplistically, it is all about integrity of the institution and we should expect better from our institutions, whether they be sports leagues or politicians. It has to start somewhere.
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