Editors Note: Editors Note: A quorum has been met for the editorial to be considered for publication as 15 members of the board voted by 1:30 a.m. The editorial passed with a super majority: 14 - 0 - 1: 14-Yes votes, 0-No votes, and 1-Abstain vote

Treason is defined as an act of betrayal or disloyalty. Bill Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots embodied that when he was accused of spying against the New York Jets team. Spying is an act of betrayal and disloyalty. In this case, it was the country of the National Football League (NFL) where the treason occurred.

The hope and unspoken expectation is that everyone plays honestly and does not cheat. Without cheating there is no act of betrayal and disloyalty. Belichick betrayed other coaches and the NFL when the spy gate scandal broke through because there was an unspoken trust that these kinds of things will not happen and it did.

At the time, they were not sentenced severely by the NFL and Coach Belichick continued to coach the high powered offense of the Patriots led by quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss.

The New York Jets could not put the New England Patriots down nor were they able to be sentenced for treason in the other 15 games of the season, finishing the regular season with a perfect 16-0. This was disappointing because at the time it showed that there was no sentencing for cheating. The Patriots streak continued in the playoffs when they went 2-0 winning the AFC Championship game too! This was a disappointing moment again because spy gate was not taken seriously.

The most disappointing moment came when Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was outraged when he found out Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner gave permission for all the video tapes that the Patriots took of opposing teams to be destroyed. There is now a scandal on that too and hearings will happen in Congress with their Judicial Committee.

Goodell did not want the NFL to get a bad name as Bud Selig, the Major Baseball League (MBL) commissioner did not want baseball to be clouded by the steroids scandal. Yet, players of other teams and coaches of other teams needed to know what kind of video tapes and whose plays did Belichick have.

It is believed that when the Patriots won their first Super Bowl with Belichick at the helm against the high-powered offense of the St. Louis Rams led by quarterback and Bible-believing Christian Kurt Warner that the Patriots may have cheated there too. It is also possible that they cheated against the Philadelphia Eagles in another Super Bowl.

Were the Pittsburgh Steelers who missed out on the Super Bowl couple of times because of the New England Patriots also victims too?

It is hard to know for sure because all the tapes have been destroyed but we can still get to the truth of the treason by having witnesses involved being summoned over to Congress including Coach Belichick.

What the New York Jets could not do to put away the Patriots in their second game against them, was taken care of by the other New York.

The New York Giants almost gave the Patriots a loss in the regular season which would have put a dent on their perfect season hopes but could not accomplish it then until now.

It is only fitting that a New York team sentenced the Patriots and Coach Belichick to a defeated season for treason involving spy gate. On the night of Feb 3, 2007, it became a defeated season for the Patriots when the jury of 12 players including their coach Tom Coughlin being the foreman of the jury sentenced the Patriots to a 17-14 loss.

Belichick’s season which was blemished from the beginning of the spy gate scandal and accusations that commissioner Goodell destroyed the NFL video tapes acquired from the Patriots, got rightly blemished by the Giants who gave them a Super Bowl loss allowing them to finish their sentence with a 18-1 record. The Patriots became the only team in NFL history to go 18-1 without a Super Bowl ring.

Giants gave Patriots perfectionism piercing payday for treason. Never was real remorse seen in Belichick for his actions and never was an idea of repentance or restitution evident in Belichick. Belichick came of as a win at all costs kind of coach which also propelled anger towards the Patriots organization.

It was a sweet feeling when the Indianapolis Colts with coach Tony Dungy, a born-again Christian won the Super Bowl last year whose coaching style and lifestyle have been praised in the NFL compared to Belichick.

Cheating may seem successful for the time being but it will eventually come to bite when the truth comes to light whether it is day or night. Patriots finishing the season with a Super Bowl loss to the Giants is a classic example. Of the only loss they got, it happened in the game watched all over the world. It reminded people what cheating can eventually result in.

Coaches and players need to be honest and have integrity because wrong doing will eventually come into the light. When it comes to light and there is no remorse the sentencing will be harsher.

The New York Giants had the opportunity to be the jury of 12 sentencing the Patriots organization with a devastating loss in Super Bowl XLLII.

The lesson to be learned no matter where we are whether it is sports, academics, career, it is not worth coming up by cheating because everything may go well but when least expected when most of the world is watching cheaters collapse when there is no remorse or repentance but when there is remorse and repentance there is forgiveness involved too. It is sad that the Patriots team had to pay the consequences and fans had to suffer this sentence because of coach Belichick's actions.

The Bible speaks a lot against dishonesty and cheating but also speaks a lot on mercy and forgiveness when there is remorse.

The New York Giants being the jury set the precedent that cheating can hurt badly at the most watched moment. It happened to the New England Patriots. Let it not happen to us!

Express Your View

.Click picture to read my dad's memoriam:

Nov 01, 1941 - Dec 17, 2007

Previous Editorials:

Pitt News Rebuttal Editorial: "People Provider For Ongoing Abortions Abhors Administration of Bush " (Jan 24, 08, 9:30 a.m.)

Editorial: "GOP's Gutless, Giving Guiliani Galvanization!" (Jan 19, 08, 2:02 a.m.)

Reproduction or reuse for profit prohibited without written consent from Pittsburgh Standard