Good for the NFL Levying Huge Spying Fines on Patriots

Kudos to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell for acting swiftly and decisively with the New England Patriots and their suddenly uncovered spying scandal.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined the NFL maximum of $500,000 and the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000 for spying on the New York Jets' defensive signals last Sunday. Goodell also ordered the team to give up next year's first-round draft choice if it reaches the playoffs and second- and third-round picks if it doesn't.

Photo of Bill Belichick by John Pyle/Icon SMI

The last scenario the NFL -- by far the most successful sports league in the United States -- needs right now are the dark clouds of spectator suspicion looming.

The National Basketball Association has its unsavory referee-betting mess heading into the new season. And Major League Baseball remains enveloped in its endless steroids soap opera, one that rendered Barry Bonds' home run record chase this summer a mere afterthought.

Football is king, and by all appearances Goodell will do everything in his power to keep it that way. Good for him!