1. If deflating the footballs below the league minimum was no big deal that conveyed no unfair competitive advantage, then why did Tom Brady and the Patriots do it?
2. Sure, deflated footballs were not the difference in the conference championship game, which the Pats won 45-7. But do you really think this was the one and only time that the Patriots–who have a history of circumventing the rules–have done it? They played lots of close games where cheating could have made the difference.
3. “Everybody does it” is not a valid excuse, especially since “everybody” assuredly does not do it. Why do you think Don Shula called the New England coach Bill “Beli-cheat”?
4. Patriots supporters are complaining that the team is now in a no-win situation. If New England wins the Super Bowl, people will say it cheated; if it loses, they will say it lost because it wasn’t able to cheat. Too bad. Maybe that conundrum is a good reason not to cheat in the first place.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?