Patriots, or deceivers? A once revered quarterback-and-coach duo, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s entire legacy with the New England Patriots is in jeopardy after the NFL discovered the Patriots altered footballs in their playoff games against the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts.

The New England Patriots are seemingly a perennial NFL juggernaut. Towards the end of every season, they seem to be in contention for a championship behind the steady play of Tom Brady and leadership of Bill Belichick. However, the Patriots are now mired in a serious cheating controversy: altering balls to gain an unfair advantage over opponents.

The controversy stemmed from a single play in the second quarter. Tom Brady’s pass was intercepted by Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson. After being tackled, Jackson jogged off the field and handed the ball to a member of the Colts equipment staff. Upon examination of the ball, the staff member noticed that the ball felt slightly deflated and was quick to give the news to Colts Coach Chuck Pagano.

After the game, a 45-7 drubbing at the hands of the Patriots, Colts officials reported the findings to the NFL. The Ravens, the Patriots’ previous opponent, then quickly agreed and proclaimed that the Patriots had used altered footballs against them as well. The news spread like wildfire, and just a few days later, the whole debacle had garnered a title: Deflategate.

Deflategate has put the Brady-Belichick team in the spotlight for close examination and scrutiny. This is due especially to the fact that Brady and Belichick have had similar allegations against them before. In a huge and flagrant scandal in 2007 – called “Spygate” by fans – the Patriots taped the signals and practices of teams before games. The most serious of these incidents occurred when the Patriots videotaped the St. Louis Rams’ practice before Super Bowl XXXVI. In addition, they taped and studied the New York Jets’ signals and plays before a regular season game in 2007. It is apparent that the Brady-Belichick era is one full with success, but devoid of integrity regarding the NFL rules and the game of football.

Those defending the Patriots’ actions argue that altering the balls had no real effect on the games. After all, the score of the AFC Championship game against the Colts was 45-7 in favor of the Patriots, who were clearly the better team. In addition, many football players have said that one cannot even feel the difference when using a slightly deflated ball. What these people are ignoring is that cheating is not defined as gaining the spoils of unlawful acts. Cheating is just the act of attempting to gain an unfair advantage or breaking the rules, and the NFL has already found video footage of a Patriots staff member mysteriously disappearing with the footballs after official inspections took place. It is clear that the NFL needs to take action upon these recent developments.

When asked what actions should be taken against the Patriots, Daniel Griffis ’17 states, “The Patriots should be severely fined, and Bill Belichick should be suspended.”

Aria Dandawate ’16 also replies, “What was done was clearly creating a playing field that wasn’t level. It can cautiously be compared to the use of steroids – false means of achieving success. Likewise, anything that is done to boost the likelihood of one team beating another by unjust means should be punished. If anything, suspension would be an apt punishment to dissuade any argument that the NFL would entertain or tolerate any behavior of that kind.”

This truly expresses the general sense of outrage that fans have against the Patriots. A disgruntled fan, Scott Latshaw, attempted to respond to Deflategate by taking matters into his own hands. Latshaw created a petition to replay the entire AFC Championship between the Ravens and Colts and to send the Patriots packing. Over the course of the past week, the petition has garnered more than sixty thousand signatures, and though it will never be passed, the petition serves as a symbol for the Patriots’ seemingly tainted legacy. The NFL will clearly have many looming decisions regarding the Patriots organization.