Cheating Patriots Get Off Easy

So the NFL has found the New England Patriots guilty of cheating in a most nefarious way. Seems Bill Belichick and company have been video-taping the opposing team's defensive coaches as they signal in their plays. No wonder the common lament of Patriots opponents -- "it was almost like they were in our huddle" -- now rings so true: in effect, they were.

Yet the penalties handed down by the league -- a measly $750,000 in fines and a lost number one draft pick -- seem benign given the gravity of the offense. After all, league history might read differently had the Patriots not cheated.

Take, for example, their Super Bowl victory over the Rams following the 2001 season. They didn't exactly roll to victory in that game. Indeed, despite the referee's unwillingness to call illegal contact against Patriots players who mugged St. Louis receivers all game long, the Patriots only won with a last-second drive aided by a blown non-call when Tom Brady intentionally grounded the ball.

Who knows how that game -- and league history -- might have turned out had the Patriots not known the Ram's defensive signals before each play? St. Louis might have been the town with an NFL dynasty, Kurt Warner might be on the way to the Hall of Fame, and Mike Martz might still be a head coach. The Patriots, with their despicable actions, have inexorably altered the lives and careers of those associated with every team they've played.

What the Patriots have done tears at the very fabric of a game that depends upon a perception of fairness to thrive. This turns the NFL into an enterprise no more real and legitimate than pro wrestling. The NFL blew this one. At the very least, Belichick should have been drummed out of the league forever and the Patriots should have forfeited last week's game. I would have preferred the league confiscate all those ill-gotten and unearned Lombardi trophies. Shame on you, Bill Belichick, and shame on the Patriots.

A final aside: you New England Patriots fans must now hang your head in shame, knowing that none of the team's successes over the past several years were in any way legitimate. Your team won by cheating, your victories are hollow.