Sep

15

The Press Disappoints Again, and AGAIN!

September 15, 2007 | by Keith | Categories Magazines, Newspapers, Television |

I’m throwing the flag right now on the media for piling on when it comes to the Patriots and the “video-gate” controversy.

First, full disclosure.  I live in New England and I am a Patriots fan.  What the Patriots did was wrong.  The were punished appropriately.  Let’s move on.  Apparently that’s not what the media wants to do.

Let’s look at the facts.  The Patriots were fined $750,000 and their first round draft pick was taken away (I think it’s safe to assume at this time the Pats will make the playoffs) for violating the following rule:

“no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game.”

To summarize, they were caught with having an unauthorized video camera on the sideline.  Period.  Think about that for a minute.  Then think about the punishment.  Given Commissioner Roger Goodell’s “get-tough” stance on violations, this punishment more than fits the crime.  Yet many in the media feel the punishment was not severe enough.

The press continues to represent the false perception that the Patriots “cheated” by attempting to steal the defensive signals of the New York Jets.   Yes, the Patriots did try to steal the Jets’ signals.  But what seems to be lost in the media’s portayal of this story is that the Jets were also trying to steal the Patriots’s defensive signals.  They just didn’t use a camera to do it.  Look for all 32 teams to do the same this weekend, as they have been doing for decades!  More stories have been coming out about how teams steal signals, but the media feels the Patriots for some reason are more felonious than the rest of the league.

Some in the press have gone so far as to acknowledge that all teams steal signals, but because the Patriots used a camera, they have an unfair advantage because they can replay the footage over and over where coaches on the sidelines or in the press box spying with binoculars are not afforded that luxury.  That doesn’t hold water with me. Each team has coaches whose sole job is to decipher the signals.  They see the same signals dozens of time a game.  They know what to look for.  I don’t beleive having a camera to record these signals gives a team as much of an advantage as the media thinks.  

The Patriots did a stupid thing by continuing to deploy a camera on the sideline in defiance of a league directive against it.  There is a Nixonian aspect to having the best coach in the business stoop to such a level of irresponsibility.  Stupidity and irresponsibility does not necessarily warrant this blatant, all out assault against the organization.  Is the press being biased?  I’ll answer that question with another…If Tony Dungy had been the coach in question, would the press treat him with the same level of angst as Belichick?  Somehow I think Saint Tony would get a free pass.

As I said in my last post, the press wants to use this to get back at Belichick and the Patriots for not being as forthcoming with the information they desire.  Is the coach and organization arrogant?  Probably.  Would the lack of information coming from the team get on my nerves if the Pats were my beat?  You bet.  But unlike many in the media, I would accept it and attempt to get my information from other sources. 

The press needs to get off it’s high horse and stop taking these things personally.  You guys are not the story.  Keep your prejudices in check.  It’s not your job to bring those into your stories.  Take a big swallow of your pride and do your job.  Report.


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