Dear Students,
This week the reputation of Bill Belichick, Wesleyan’s most famous graduate, was severely damaged. His team, the New England Patriots, was found guilty of stealing signs in violation of NFL rules.
I quote here from Michael David Smith’s article in the New York Sun:
“Here’s what’s wrong with it: It’s against league rules. It’s just as much a violation of NFL rules as sending spies into the other team’s locker room, disseminating false information on injury reports, or paying players off the books to circumvent the salary cap. The Patriots were cheating, and they have to be held accountable. That accountability needs to begin with Belichick. Just because Belichick is the best coach in the NFL (and he is, by a large margin) doesn’t entitle him to the benefit of the doubt in this situation. Belichick has total control over the franchise and must have known this was going on. Merely fining him isn’t enough. Goodell must suspend him.”
Make no mistake: Mr. Belichick cheated. While at first glance the incident seems benign, in reality it was a transgression of gigantic proportions. It may be the case that Mr. Belichick cheated his way to three Super Bowl titles. He should not be invited back to speak at Wesleyan until he expresses true remorse. It would reflect poorly on our fine institution to invite him back when he hasn’t issued a genuine apology.
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