Belichick Fined $500,000, Patriots Stripped of At Least One Draft Pick
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and stripped the team of at least one draft pick, possibly its first-round selection next spring, for using videotaping equipment to try to steal the New York Jets' play signals during a game last Sunday.
The Patriots will lose their first-round draft choice if they reach the playoffs this season, the league announced tonight. If they don't reach the postseason, they'll be stripped of their second- and third-round selections. The Patriots were fined $250,000, although Goodell concluded that franchise owner Robert Kraft was not aware of Belichick's sign-stealing scheme before the league's investigation began.
Goodell considered suspending Belichick, according to the league's announcement, but decided against it because he felt the fine and loss of draft pick or picks was "more significant and long-lasting."
In a letter to the Patriots, Goodell wrote that "this episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field."
By Mark Maske |
September 13, 2007; 9:19 PM ET
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Posted by: TERRELL HALE | September 14, 2007 9:08 AM
Fines don't mean much but taking the draft picks is appropriate.
What I don't understand is why does it matter whether or not the Pats make the playoffs? Does New England not making the playoffs all of a sudden make the cheating less egregious?
Let's say they miss the playoffs...They get to keep the first round pick - and a top 20ish pick at that.
If they make the playoffs they lose their first round pick, but it would have come in the latter third of the first round.
Seems backwards.
Posted by: prophet | September 14, 2007 12:02 PM
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COME ON!!!! WAS HE REALLY CHEATING??? I MEAN ALL HE WASS TRYNA DO IS WIN A FOOTBALL GAME, ITS THE JETS FAULT FOR NOT BEING VERSATILE WITH THIER GAME STRADAGIES. AND TRUST ME IF HE WOULDVE LOOKED AT THE TAPE LIKE HE WANTED 2, THE PATRIOTS WOULD'VE LOST BY MORE THAN 17 POINTS