December 18, 2007
Since the beginning of the 2007 NFL season, the Spygate scandal has rocked the league.
It started after the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets, 38-14, in the first week of the season.
After the game, the Jets accused the Patriots of cheating by taping the Jets defensive play calls, allowing the Patriots to see what the Jets would be running next.
There’s no question that every team in the league tries to determine what plays the opposing team is calling from the sidelines, but NFL rules state that no recording device can be used by the one team on the opposing team’s sidelines.
After an investigation by NFL commissioner Roger Goodel and reports from other teams, Patriots coach Bill Belichick admitted that his team broke this rule.
The Patriots were fined and lost their first-round draft pick for 2008, but the Spygate scandal, as it was soon dubbed, was not over.
Since it started, the Jets and their coach, Eric Mangini, have been questioned about whether Mangini should have exposed the Patriots. Some people say he was right to turn in Belichick, and others say he’s just looking at a way to get even with his former mentor and AFC East rivals.
I think Mangini made the right decision in turning in Belichick, simply because it seems silly not to turn him in.
The fact is that the Patriots, who are 14-0 and favorites to win the Super Bowl, cheated, and if the Jets hadn’t informed the league, they probably would still be cheating.
The heat Mangini is taking for this is not fair, since he did the right thing in turning in the Patriots.
I lost a lot of respect for the Patriots when I heard about this. I had never really liked them as a team, but respected them as an organization that handled themselves with class and were a model to the NFL.
Now that I know they cheated, not just in that game but in previous seasons, I don’t see how anyone could look up to them as a model franchise anymore.
Belichick and the Patriots made a huge mistake. If they do end up going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl, there will forever be the lore of the Spygate scandal following them.
