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They did it last year in Green Bay, got caught, and got a warning. They did it again this past week (week 1 of the NFL season) in a game against the Jets, and this time, the results were different. The New England Patriots were caught again videotaping the opposing team's defensive coaches while they relayed signals. Thursday the NFL handed down fines and other penalties.
I could write for an hour about what a shame it is that the NFL has become just another professional sports league that demonstrates shameful behavior at its highest levels. But, for the purposes of this blog, what I want to acknowledge is that this is another incident that demonstrates to students that cheating is not only rampant, but increasingly, an expected part of achieving at the highest levels.
I remember clearly when President Clinton suggested that oral sex wasn't really sex, it dramatically influenced an entire generation of young people to believe that oral sex wasn't a big deal. It taught me never to underestimate the influence of bad behavior in the popular culture.
A 2002 study showed that 3 out of 4 high school students admitted to cheating on an exam. According to an ABC News report, many college students think that college is about learning "how to work the system," rather than absorbing the actual content of their academic classes, and that cheating here and there is part of the deal. The engineer justifies cheating on an English test, for example, because she doesn't think it really matters.
This NFL incident will result in justifications such as, "Every team does this, they just got caught" and "You don't win Superbowls without a few tricks." New England's coach, Bill Belichick, will pay his half-million dollar fine, and the team will pay their $250,000. They can afford it. The Patriots will have a great season, Barry Bonds will continue to hit home runs on the juice, and NBA officials will continue to bet on games.
But until integrity makes a comeback, I'm spending less time with the Sports section.
