Goodell Misses The Point

Integrity of Game Issue

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dropped the ball with the lightning-quick slap on the wrist on the Pats’ and their head coach, Bill Belichick.

Less than a week after finding out the Patriots committed a pre-meditated offense in attempting to swipe the Jets’ signals last Sunday in the season’s opener, the league has already passed judgment.

Without getting into the specifics of the punishment, it’s too early a call and certainly not strong enough.

Bill Belichick is a head coach - meaning he is an authority figure who should set a positive example, not show players how to cut corners.

Plus, the fact that this was premeditated makes it all that much worse.

Let me get this right – a player goes to a nightclub, gets in trouble and breaks the law, leading to an eventual sit-down with the commissioner and suspension. But a coach, who sets out to break the rules, gets fined only, and the team loses either a #1 pick or a #2 & #3 based on where the team finishes?

Did Goodell call Belichick on the carpet?

Did he inquire as to how long this has been going on?

Has he interviewed past and current Pats’ employees to get to the bottom of this?

The fact the punishment has already been determined indicates the league wants to move on.

Something stinks here.

A double-standard seems to exist in terms of how the league treats players and coaches. How else do you explain such swift action?

What’s the rush?

There have been rumblings throughout the league for several years that strange things happen when you play the Pats, especially at their place – coaches’ head sets not working in the middle of a key drive, quarterbacks’ receiver transmitters shorting out at the most opportune time, etc…

This morning on a nationally syndicated sports talk show, one host mentioned that he is aware of at least one NFL team that specifically brings hard wire headsets on the road with them when they play New England.

I wonder why?

If you are Goodell, why not investigate this further now that you have just cause to do so?

If nothing more is discovered – fine. But, if this is a pattern of behavior on the part of the Pats, the league should want to know about it and come down hard – thus setting an appropriate example this will not be tolerated. And if it leads to other teams doing the same thing, then so be it.

The idea is to get it right, not move on fast.

Most important of all, if the commissioner is truly concerned about cleaning up the league’s public image when it comes to players’ off-the-field behavior, then he should be even more concerned about coaches’ in-game behavior, because these actions in question (Belichick’s cheating) go directly to the integrity of the game – pro sports’ #1 commandment of providing an even playing field.