Roger Goodell’s strong arm approach since taking over as commissioner has been lauded by many. His no-nonsense approach and the stiff penalties he has dealt out to problem players has put the NFL on the fast track to cleaning its image up. However, there needs to be consistency in his dealing with incidents. While the punishments he has given out to Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones and Chris Henry have been given mixed results, he has now set precedence for how to deal with issues that could tarnish the reputation of the league.

By setting precedence, Goodell has to apply it to all situations on comparable levels. This week, Bill Belichick and his Patriots were nailed for videotaping defensive signals of the New York Jets. This situation was different from the incidents regarding Jones, Henry and Johnson in that it actually involves tampering with the actual game. This in fact, makes the situation more pressing and damaging to the reputation of the NFL, because it puts in question the fairness of its games that are played. Goodell, in very David Stern-like gamesmanship, waited a full business week to make his decision, leaving us all expecting a very stiff punishment.

The result? A fine, a loss of conditional draft picks. That’s it? Lets break that penalty down. First off the fines mean jack. $500,000 to one of the top paid coaches in the league, and a $250,000 fine to the organization, which has always been ranked as one of the most valuable. The patriots would lose their first round draft pick if they make the playoffs, and thus lose a second and a third. Well the Patriots have a second 1st rounder this year from the ‘Niners which will most definitely be a lower selection than where the Pats would pick. That pick would be untouched.

Goodell is tightrope walking on a piece of floss with this decision. The penalty is way to soft, and it begs the question; why does Belichick get off the hook and guys like Jones, Henry and Johnson gets a harsh penalty? The players damaged the reputation by their actions, but they did not mess with the integrity of the game. Now I agree, forfeiture is a bit too severe, but Belichick deserved to be suspended. So why the reason of the slap on the wrist? This is the New England Patriots. Much like the San Antonio Spurs they are a commissioner’s dream, because they have good solid reputations. Did Goodell cave to the pressures of NFL owners who were worried about a strict precedent regarding team conduct? Was it racially motivated? Who knows, only Roger does. All I know is that he wouldn’t face such questions if he actually applied his hard ass approach evenly.