As coaches go, Bill Belicheck is a fair coach, neither stellar nor rotten. I suppose that it is out of the lack of notoriety that he felt that it was for some reason absolutely necessary to cheat, so that he could get the upper hand and win games.

Does cheating exist in the NFL? Absolutely it does, and probably always has. When someone is caught cheating in some way, however, they are usually punished for it. If they want to continue a career in the NFL, they also usually admit to their mistakes, make genuine apologies for the behavior, and do what they can to make amends.

This isn't the case with Belicheck, though. Even after getting caught, he denied doing anything wrong. When he could no longer deny it, instead of taking responsibility, he said, "Everyone is doing it." This is a cop out, and an attempt to justify actions that were morally and legally wrong, without taking responsibility at all. Of course, if he is denying responsibility, there is no need to apologize, right? In fact, he has refused to talk about it, making it seem even worse than what we know about. The fact that his 'punishment' was so very light, amounting to a slap on the wrist, just adds to the indignity.

Well, Bill, you are wrong on quite a few fronts. Not taking responsibility is being immature, which isn't a real great trait for a coach to have. Not apologizing sincerely alienated a great number of viewers. Not having to face the music is a slap at every other team in the league, the viewers, the sports writers, and everyone even remotely associated with the sport.

The Patriots great record not withstanding, it is guaranteed that a lot of people that would have been rooting them on last year, will be rooting against them this year, regardless of whom they play. To be sure, the Patriots have never been my favorite team. However, in years passed, very often I have found myself rooting for them. This year is different, though. This year, I've actively and sometimes very vocally rooted for any opponent they've had, even when I honestly disliked that opponent. I know I'm far from being alone.

The 2007 Patriots have been an excellent team, with lots of strength on both sides of the ball. But no matter what happens from here on out, even if they get to the Super Bowl and walk away with a victory, they are losers in my book. My memory isn't quite that short, or my morals that weak to just forget what happened.

Want to make it better, Bill? At the very least, stand up like a man and a leader, admit to doing wrong, and apologize from the heart. It won't make the scandal go away, but it will be a step in the right direction.

Learn more about this author, Rex Trulove.
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