Goodell's Follie | Dunson Checks In

Friday, September 28, 2007

New England Patriots head football coach Bill Belichick reacts during a news conference in Foxborough, Mass., Monday Sept. 17, 2007.

Recently, the NFL destroyed the remaining Patriot tapes thus ending the most tumultuous saga in Belichick's career. However, how far back does this saga go? Does it go back to Super Bowl victories? By destroying the Patriot tapes is the NFL enabling their cheating? When the feds uncovered evidence of dogfighting on Vick's property, would the NFL have moved in and removed 37 of 38 dog corpses given the chance?

In the weeks following his indictement and leading up to his plea deal, Vick and his legal team meticulously released very few public statements. However, each was the same as they issued an apology, denied his guilt but would not confirm his innocence. Following Spy-Gate, Bill Belichick followed the same strategy and issued the same degree of dodging questions revolving around his guilt.

For weeks Goodell has shuffled around the topic. What's most troubling has been the NFL's refusal to comment, confirm or deny the extent of the Patriots cheating. We know there were other tapes destroyed but did any of them indicate evidence of cheating in a playoff game or one of their 3 Super Bowls?

If a player grabs the facemask of a player, and lets go it's a 5 yard gain. However, if a player grabs the helmet of a player for a prolonged period, it's a 15 yarder because the action has become more severe than it initially was. When a player tests positive for an illegal substance under the NFL's drug policy, the penalty increases with each violation. Shouldn't the same philosophy have applied to Belichick's punishment?

Once multiple tapes emerged revealing multiple violations of the initial NFL bylaws why wasn't more punishment have been piled on? The point is just because we weren't shocked by revelations of further transgressions doesn't mean we should dismiss him when he does more wrong.

-- D.J. Dunson