New England Patriots Caught Spying
The New England Patriots were caught spying on the New York Jets in Sunday’s game, by videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals. Mark Schlereth explains in this video how this creates a huge unfair advantage for the Patriots. Furthermore, the Patriots had been caught doing this once before, and certainly a warning was not sufficient to stop them from repeating this illegal spying.
So what should the penalty be? I favor forfeiting the game, instead of less severe punishments, like a fine or taking a draft choice away.
Reason #1: In sports, you often have the opportunity to apply a penalty that negates the potential advantage of the illegal act. If a lineman holds, the penalty negates any advantage the holding may have gained. If a basketball player commits a foul, the free throws negate the advantage gained by the foul. And so, if you violate a rule during a game that could give you a huge unfair advantage in that game over your opponent, then to negate that advantage you would forfeit the game.
Reason #2: Illegal spying on an opponent threatens the integrity of the game. People (and the league) need to be sure that games are being won fairly and on the basis of what happens on the field. Whenever the integrity of the game is threatened, this is the worst threat possible to a league, and extremely severe penalties are warranted. They are warranted not only as a deterrent to prevent others from breaking the same rule, but because the offender needs to be punished. The integrity of the game needs to be maintained.
Reason #3: If you punish the Patriots by taking away a draft choice or two, that may in fact be a severe punishment, but please remember this is the first game of the year. Suppose it is the last game of the regular season, and a win for a team would mean that the team makes the playoffs. Is the threat of losing a draft choice or two sufficiently severe to prevent the illegal spying in that instance? For most teams, it probably is severe enough, but I want a penalty that is severe enough to prevent all teams from breaking the rules.
posted by Paige @ 9/11/2007 08:14:00 PM Permalink 3 comments
3 Comments:
I think that the team caught cheating via spying should absolutely need to forfeit the game, if not the whole season. I agree entirely with previous comments that it negates the entire point of the game, which should be to win fairly or why play?
Perhaps this is the only reason why the Patriots have won so many Super Bowls. If any case can be made that they cheated then, those wins should be rescinded as well.
Why should NFL cheating be tolerated? Why should it be any different than the Olympic track saga? Which is more of an unfair advantage...taking a performance enhancer or knowing the opponent's play calls? I have lost respect for the Patriots. If their wins are accumulated through foul play, they cease to have meaning.
Since the beginning of the NFL, teams have tried to read things across the field to give them an edge on their opponents. Stealing signals from the opposing sideline is EXACTLY the same thing in baseball when a runner on second base steals the signs from the catcher and then tips off the batter.
Hey, Anonymous #2
I couldn't disagree more. It is not the case that "Stealing signals from the opposing sideline is EXACTLY the same thing in baseball when a runner on second base steals the signs from the catcher and then tips off the batter."
Why?
Because a baseball player is using his own eyes to see something that the other team is doing. The football case involves using sophisticated technology to steal verbal cues that could not otherwise be detected. And the NFL had specifically ruled that you can't use this technology to steal signals. Big difference. You do believe that teams in the NFL should follow the NFL's rules, don't you?
By the way, I am never convinced with an argument that goes like this: Sport A allows something, so Sport B should allow the same thing. Baloney. Each sport can make its own rules to regulate what is fair play and what is not.
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