Should Goodell stay steamed at Belichick over Spygate? NAY: ‘Honest Roger’ must forgive ‘Dishonest Bill’

It is the greats of history who can put the grievances of the past behind them. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, got snubbed by an arrogant lawyer in Cincinnati in his pre-presidential days ? but then, about a year after he got elected, he made the same man his secretary of war.National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell would do well to emulate such objectivity by saying “forgive and forget” to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick over the sins of Spygate.We need only briefly recap the notorious events. Four years ago, the “Man Genius,” then-New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, leveled the accusation of skullduggery against his former boss. Eventually the accusations reached the office of the commissioner, who was barely into his second year of succeeding Paul Tagliabue. The Patriots’ punishment was steep but just: a $500,000 fine for Belichick, $250,000 more from the team, and the loss of a first-round draft pick (and we all know how much Belichick loves those draft picks). The cloud of controversy hung over the Patriots despite a perfect 16-0 regular season and Super Bowl appearance.To Goodell, the cloud has not lifted. Sports Illustrated reporter Peter King chronicled the commissioner’s comments in a recent profile for the magazine. Goodell, cloaked in righteous indignation, says he was “deceived” by Belichick’s stance after Spygate. The commissioner says he extracted a promise for a public apology from Belichick ? an apology that the Patriots coach delivered in classic diabolical form, by issuing a “public statement” and then taking no questions from the media.Of the Patriots coach, we may truly say that he embodies his beloved cliché and “is what he is” – a scheming manipulator who wears his hoodie as well as Emperor Palpatine wore his cloak in the Star Wars movies (there is a surprising resemblance between the two). Goodell should recognize this ? acknowledge that, ‘tude or no ‘tude, Belichick and the Pats did get punished ? and move on.Although the commissioner spent much of his childhood in New York, his approach is more characteristic of New England ? whether it is Hester Prynne having to wear a scarlet letter as a symbol of her sins ? or the Boston Red Sox getting stigmatized for 86 years for sending Babe Ruth to the Yankees.Some may call the “forgive-and-forget” policy simply another name for being weak-willed. Yet you can also call it optimism that a person can renounce the evil of their ways ? or pragmatism that they can someday do you a good turn like you did to them. It wouldn’t hurt Goodell to have all the support he can get from the owners (like, for instance, Bob Kraft) in the upcoming talks with the players.Honest Abe ended up being pretty pleased with his War Secretary, to the point where, when the guy wanted to be Chief Justice, Lincoln told one of his advocates that he was irreplaceable in the War Department. Goodell should look at how many teams in his league get pumped up to play Belichick’s Patriots ? and how irreplaceable Belichick has made himself (for now) to the Pats ? and recognize that for all of the coach’s past transgressions, he is very much a part of the league’s present vitality. It is time for Goodell to be the better man and move on.Rich Tenorio is The Item’s sports copy editor.