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The New England Patriots National Football team has been a top performing franchise for years. Perennial leaders in their division and Super Bowl contenders, they have set high standards for offensive prowess and smash-mouth defense that have been the pride of their multi-state New England fans. Fans everywhere, then, were surprised to learn that the NFL has taken punitive measures against the Patriots for breaking the rules that prohibit recording devices on the field.

On Sunday, September 9, 2007, during the Patriots-Jets game (Patriots won 30-14), NFL security people spotted a Patriots video technician taping the Jets coaches' signals to their team on the field. According to NFL rules (quoted from the New York Times), "No video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game."

Apparently, this was not the first incidence of Patriot rule breaking. NFL officials have suspected Patriots coaching staff of stealing opponents' signs for at least two years. The most recent incident was during a 35-0 Patriot victory (November 19, 2006) over the Green Bay Packers when security officials removed the same video technician operating a video camera from the sidelines after noticing that his badge did not give him access to the sideline area. During that incident, surprisingly officials did not confiscate the camera, nor did they take any punitive action against the Patriots organization.

This time, though, the NFL front office came down on the Raiders with both feet. Bill Belichick, the Patriots Head Coach was assessed a whopping $500,000 fine. The team has also been fined $250,000 and must forfeit its first-round draft pick next season. Belichick, while not admitting he did anything wrong, apologized to the team owners for his "poor judgment." The Head Coach also lamely insisted that he would "never" use any information gained in this manner "during the game."

Considering the advantage a team would have by being able to record, study, and evaluate offensive and defensive signals of a rival team -especially a team in their own division that they play twice each season- we can imagine a special Patriots play book, say, for all stolen Jets' defensive and offensive signals. Some sports analysts, however, have said that such an advantage would only give a team a few seconds to adjust to a particular play. The team, after all, would have to be good enough to actually thwart the play. Others, of course, say that cheating is cheating, and the Patriots tried to cheat.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also agrees that cheating is cheating. Perhaps aware of the recent professional basketball scandal where a veteran referee admitted influencing game point spreads, Selig wants no tarnish anywhere near the NFL. Consider also, the damage Michael Vick and his dog fighting venture did to the league, and it's not hard to figure out why the NFL is in an absolute "zero-tolerance" mode.

NFL fans everywhere agree with Commissioner Goodell.

For more on this story go to http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap /2007/09/14/ap4117340.html .

Learn more about this author, Jerry Curtis.
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