The Media and "Spygate"

With the Super Bowl coming up next weekend, I got to thinking about the cheaters in New England and why sports journalists decided to turn their backs on a major story.

For those who know sports, the biggest story in this year’s NFL is the New England Patriots. The team is 18-0 going into the Super Bowl. The only team in history to do this, if they win they will join the Miami Dolphins of 1972 as the only teams to go undefeated. The Dolphins were 17-0.

But in Week 1 of this year, the Patriots were caught using cameras to spy on the New York Jets defense. What the media termed “spygate” (a dumb term considering what journalists did with Watergate and what happened after this occurrence) reached national headlines, as an NFL franchise was caught cheating. A franchise that was considered to be the model all others should be based on after winning 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

It was found out that the same person who was caught cheating for the Patriots this year was thrown out of Lambeau Field in Green Bay last year. This year when the Washington Redskins traveled to play the Patriots in New England, their head sets malfunctioned when they were driving down the field. This happens to many teams when they play in New England, the Denver Broncos most notably.

Of course with this proof of cheating and suspicion of potentially worse things, like knocking the opponents radio out, the NFL gave the Patriots a slap on the wrist. They fined coach Bill Belichick and owner Bob Craft and took away a 1^st round draft pick. A weak penalty considering in the NBA when the Minnesota Timberwolves were caught making a contract under the table with a player, their owner and GM were suspended for the whole year and they lost 5 1^st round draft choices. Draft choices matter much more in the NBA than in the NFL.

My biggest issue with this whole thing is where was the media here? Sports Illustrated broke the steroids story in baseball. From there two San Francisco Chronicle reporters investigated Barry Bonds and wrote a book about how he took steroids to become the all-time home run king. Now Congress is investigating baseball. So where were the sports writers when this “spygate” broke out? They said the NFL was no harsh enough, but they never followed up any. There were no stories about the rumors flying around the league regarding how the Patriots have notoriously cheated. All we heard was praise for Tom Brady and Randy Moss and how great this team was.

If the media wants to compare this “spygate” to Watergate, then there should be some follow up to it. Watergate ended with President Nixon leaving office, the Sports Illustrated story on steroids has ended with Congress getting involved, what with the legacy of this “spygate” be? A team going 19-0 and considered to be the best team ever, even though they have been proven cheaters. All because the sports media doesn’t have the guts to be the governments watchdog, or in this case, the NFL’s watchdog. That makes me sick.