(Entirely non-medical, as is now my unintentional theme.)
Sports radio will be all over the Patriots fine and loss of draft pick(s), their penalty imposed for (getting caught) cheating. Their fine is $500,000 for the coach and a team $250,000. And, it’s entirely appropriate it gets talked about.
What you probably won’t be hearing much about is the whoppingly monstrous fine levied the same day against the McLaren Formula 1 racing team. Think $750K and a draft pick is big for cheating? How about a $100 Million Dollar fine (and loss of constructors points) for the leading team, decided to be cheating by the World Motor Sport Council.
What’s scary is that both teams have the money to pay their fines, apparently. Orders of magnitude difference in the money; cheaters occasionally win, but they at least get fined.
For a FAQ about the F1 contretemps, see the BBC.
Talk about a hefty fine. But in both cases the respective teams were allowed to continue in competition without suspension. McLaren currently has the 1st and 2nd drivers in the season title standings, and the Patriots are always a Super Bowl contender. These organizations have plenty of money to pay fines, and if New England wins the Super Bowl, and McLaren takes the season title, this was nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Suspensions would have been a stiffer penalty in both cases.
The $500K fine for Belichick was ridiculous; he spent more on a condo for a woman he was having an affair with.
F1 has it right; if someone’s caught cheating you fine them in a big way to discourage future cheating, and at $100 million, I think they achieved that. The NFL did the exact opposite bc the fine was a mere pittance, and the loss of draft pick(s) was equally ridiculous when considering that if the Pats make the playoffs they’ll lose their first-round pick BUT they’ll still have a first-round pick courtesy of the Moss trade. Pathetic.
If the NFL were serious about cheating, they’d count the game the Patriots cheated in as forfeit.
McLaren can take the hit but it’ll hurt. By all accounts, they deserve it