Is Belichick's Punishment Fair?

So by now pretty much everyone has heard of the scandal surrounding Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. If you haven’t here is a quick rundown. He was caught by the NFL filming the New York Jet’s defensive signals. Eric Mangini, Jet’s coach and former Patriot’s assistant coach was the one who told officials that he suspected Belichick of this filming. Belichick’s explanation for his behavior was that he was not aware of the rules surrounding his actions. He also denied using video tape to gain an advantage over other teams in the NFL. As a result of his actions, Belichick was fined $500,000 and the Patriots were fined $250,000. This is the largest fine ever imposed on a coach in the history of the NFL and the most that the NFL allows in terms of fines for a coach. All in all, Bill Belichick is not a very smart or lucky man.

Now usually when it comes to sports most arguments and discussions happen with my dad. However, last week my mom and I got into a discussion about Bill Belichick and the nightmare he’s found himself in. She said that his punishment did not fit the crime and that she felt bad for him. I really disagree with this. I think that this is a form of cheating and contrary to what Belichick says, it does give him an advantage over other teams. I’ve heard football referred to as one of the last remaining pure sports, meaning that is one of the last sports where most teams are on a level playing field with out cheating for the most part (I think this is arguable). However, this sort of behavior by Belichick ruins this. Another one of my mom’s arguments was that this has probably happened before and probably still happens but nobody knows about it and that it was just unlucky for Bill Belichick that he got caught. I thought this was ridiculous too. Sure, other coaches may be doing something similar to what Belichick did but it doesn’t make it right. Belichick should stand as a role model to other coaches not just in the NFL but in other leagues as well. Once other people see that this behavior is a serious offense and comes with a huge cost, the might change their behavior and the game will be much more fair.
So pretty much, yes, Bill Belichick is a very unlucky man who got caught for filming the Jets. Whether he knew the rules or not about his actions, he is in trouble. So maybe he’s down $500,000 and everyone thinks he is a horrible person, but Belichick’s contract was renewed by the Patriots and I’m sure he still has quite the bank account. He’ll survive this and the game of football will move on to the next big controversy.