For our Thursday Thorns column today, we’re going to reiterate something we posted awhile ago but has just resurfaced with the news that former NFL coach Bill Belichick was denied first-ballot entry to the Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. We understand cheating has become part of society as a whole, sadly, despite the fact that all of us raised in the twentieth century were raised with ethical and moral frameworks in place that too many Americans have cast aside these days.

This is part of what we wrote in Summer 2023, to get this ball rolling:

“From 1991 to 1995 with the Browns, though, Belichick posted just a 37-45 record with one postseason appearance (1994). The Patriots did go 11-5 without Brady in 2008, but they missed the playoffs anyway. In the three seasons since Brady left to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England has posted a 25-26 record with one postseason berth. So, that’s Belichick without Brady: a sub-.500 coach with a 73-76 mark.”

Toss in the Patriots’ 2023 record (4-13) without Tom Brady, as well. Thus, if Belichick’s legacy is based on his association with Brady, well … we know Brady is a huge cheater, too. Belichick, without Brady, was just 83-101 as an NFL head coach (updated) all things added in. Thus, the complications here get even more … complicated. We’ve also written way too much on the quarterback’s cheating soul, but here again is a reminder of his multitude of transgressions (posted January 2023):

“How many times have we had to point this out? NFL quarterback Tom Brady is not the best ever. Not even close. Not even remotely so. Only if you value quantity over quality—and only if you ignore the cheating. So, no … Tom Brady is not the greatest of all time at anything in the NFL, unless you are talking about cheating.”

So, what exactly are people thinking when they whine about Belichick not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer? He was nothing without Brady, and yet the two partners in crime enabled each other to new heights by cheating in concert. People seem to give Brady a pass on all this, for reasons unknown, which makes us wonder why Belichick is paying the price for both of them now. That doesn’t make sense, especially since Brady continues to get feted by the NFL, TV networks, etc.

We’ve read a lot of coverage of this nonsense, and we’re disappointed in almost everyone who has chimed in. Why are people afraid to just come out and be honest about the transgressions of these sports “heroes”? It makes little sense to us, other than the fear of losing income via “social backlash” for citing facts. And that in itself, people, is just another problem this once-mighty nation faces these days. Facts over feelings, we always say, and we seem to be in the minority.

Yet we wouldn’t position ourselves any other way on this theme: “[L]eadership … is an essentially moral act, not—as in most management—an essentially protective act. It is the assertion of a vision, not simply the exercise of a style …” (A. Bartlett Giamatti). Damn, we miss the twentieth century when Americans were much better than they are now.