Of the last six Super Bowl Championships, the New England Patriots have won half of them. That is quite a remarkable feat for any team to accomplish. Also remarkable is that Bill Belichick was the Head Coach for each of those seasons.
But the most remarkable is that it was recently discovered that an employee of the Patriots was instructed to videotape signals being given from the Jets coaching staff to the players on the field. Belichick has been fined $500,000, and the team has been fined an additional $250,000. They will also lose their highest pick in the 2008 draft.
Belichik said, “Part of my job as head coach is to ensure that our football operations are conducted in compliance of the league rules and all accepted interpretations of them. My interpretation of a rule in the constitution and bylaws was incorrect.”
What about integrity? Forget about the league rules, but isn’t that the same as sneaking a peek at your friends cards when you’re playing Gin Rummy? Would he have felt any worse had he stolen the Jet’s playbook aside from the fact that he knew it was against the rules?
Two weeks ago, the Mayor of Passaic Samuel Rivera, along with 11 other New Jersey officials, was charged with accepting bribes from insurance and construction contractors. He reportedly received $5000 in exchange for favoring certain businesses to have exclusive rights to work with the municipality.
Unfortunately, Mr. Rivera is by no means the only government official who has been swayed by financial kickbacks. It is only the humor-factor that makes it news worthy to write about the Congressman who hid bribe money in his freezer.
What has become of integrity? What has become of honesty?
It is crucial for Jewish leaders to stick to their values and remain loyal to what they believe in. It is easy to be tempted, but in the end of the day you will feel better about what you are doing if you do it the right way. If you have an opportunity to cut corners, sneak something by, or lie to someone, you have to fight that temptation.
Even if you are never caught like Bill Belichick, you don’t want to live your life with a Barry Bonds asterisk.
