Please keep this up -- nothing is more funny than Pat*fan* in denial. Here are the facts:
Goodell's letter says this:
NFL policy states that “no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to be in use in the coaches’ booth, on the field, or in the locker room during the game” and that all video shooting locations for club coaching purposes “must be enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead.”
In a memo to NFL head coaches and general managers on September 6, 2006, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson said, “Videotaping of any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent’s offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the sidelines, in the coaches’ booth, in the locker room, or at any other locations accessible to club staff members during the game.”
No ambiguity there -- Belichick had a Pat* cameraman on the sidelines videotaping the opponent's defensive signals.
Goodell then concludes:
“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,” Commissioner Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.
"calculated and deliberate" attempt to avoid the rules -- that's "cheating"
http://www.bartleby.com/61/34/C0263400.html
INTRANSITIVE VERB: 1. To act dishonestly; practice fraud. 2. To violate rules deliberately, as in a game: was accused of cheating at cards.
