CHEATING IS CHEATING.....

Since when is cheating in professional sports not met with ”zero tolerance”? I’m not letting this go....now that FIFA has been proven to have displayed multiple and chronic levels of corruption the lid is off of this whole sport’s cheating mess.

The epidemic levels of cheating in sports is distressing....

It’s all so insidious...the NFL is the biggest stage in American entertainment.....nothing else comes close...IT MATTERS!

Standing up for fairness in sports is more than necessary...it is crucial...in my opinion this speaks to the future ethical development of our children...the ones who are watching to see what we are doing about all of theses scandals...and all of this cheating.....won’t this have an impact on how our youth sees ”fairness” and ”cheating” along all lines of interaction in society? Are we risking breeding people who think that a little cheating is o.k. in business, etc..? Are we desensitizing our society to the wrongs of cheating?

Why is any pass (or play) that the Patriots orchestrated with an illegal ball able to be counted in the record books? Why is any game where the Patriots played with an illegal ball allowed to count? If the ball is clearly outside of league standards (by a very egregious amount) then why is it allowed to count in the game? Why isn’t the game forfeited?

When it was discovered that the uncle of USC star football player Reggie Bush had taken some money illegally from someone indirectly connected to USC, Bush had his Heisman trophy stripped (no small insult) AND USC had to forfeit all of it’s games (and a national championship), AND they were severely penalized for the subsequent 4 years of their football program. All this even though Reggie Bush had nothing to do with this ....he didn’t cheat in order to perform better in the games...not even close...he was unaware of what his uncle was doing. Why should Reggie and USC football be held responsible? And yet, Tom Brady can deliberately cheat by deflating the footballs a full 2 lbs. below league minimum...and the Pats get to keep the Super Bowl trophy....and Brady gets to keep his MVP trophy....this doesn’t pass the smell test...not to me.

How can a game winning pass play be disallowed because an official judges that a player (far away from the ball) has the tip of his knuckle finger 1/2” over the line of scrimmage (accidentally) and yet you can deliberately and clandestinely deflate the game ball (their game ball) to gain an unfair advantage for every play (until you are caught) and there is no forfeiture of any kind.... No player thinks it is an advantage to be 1/2” over the line of scrimmage. An incredibly slight, ineffectual, arbitrarily judged, and completely accidental crossing of the line of scrimmage by a player on the other side of the field....can disqualify a team from winning a Super Bowl trophy.....but not a deliberate act of rules violation that is perpetrated on every single play when your team has the ball.

There is no reason to assume that Tom Brady hasn’t been breaking these rules since he came into the league. Not even a Patriots fan would think that Brady just came up with this idea on the day he was caught....

The University of Oregon football team played in the National Championship game this year. Their top receiver had suffered a season ending injury on the first play of the semi-final game against Florida State. The back up receiver came in and caught 10 passes in his absence to help Oregon to a landslide victory. A week before the championship game against Ohio State that second string receiver was prevented form playing in the final game due to the discovery of marijuana in his system a week before the game.. The 3rd string receiver was put in in his place...he dropped numerous passes in a game that was separated by 1 point after 3 quarters. Oregon went on to lose that game. How does marijuana use a full week before the game be a disqualifying factor while modifying the actual ball for the game is penalized by a possible 4 game suspension for the following season?

No professional bike racer has been allowed to keep his trophies after it has been discovered that he was taking PED’s, or using an illegal bike, etc., during the competition. Of course not! Would it be enough to just penalize the bike racer by making him miss a few races in the following season?

Would a pro golfer who won the U.S. Open with an illegal golf ball be allowed to keep his trophy? Of course not!

Would a home run that was hit with an aluminum bat (painted to look like a wooden bat) be allowed to stand? Of course not!

What if it was discovered, after the fight, that there was lead in the boxing glove of the boxer who won the championship by a knockout? Would we still give him the belt and the championship money?

What if a jockey won the Kentucky Derby but he didn’t abide by the weight rules....he removed the ”handicapping” that was placed in his saddle to make the weights of the jockey and saddle the same?

What if was discovered that a pitcher in baseball had used a foreign substance on the baseball when he pitched a shutout in the seventh game of the World Series to win for his team? What if we caught him in the 9th inning with two out? Would the team be allowed to call themselves World Series champions? Would the game be considered official? Of course not..

What if during the America’s Cup they found at that the winner was using a sail that had more sail area than was allowed by the rules? Would he be allowed to keep the America’s Cup, thus setting up a precedence whereby you can cheat AND still win the prize?

Cheating is cheating....it is an attempt to gain an unfair advantage by playing a game outside of the rules established. Tom Brady knew exactly what he was doing. It was alleged that he has been deflating balls below the legal rules for a decade or more....well, if Tom Brady can do it and still be the mega star that he is....then tell your son or daughter why they need to play by the rules in sports, or in society......