As a former NFL player, I would always hear the saying, "If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Pretty sad isn't it? Well, I think the Patriots took that statement to heart and that is why they got caught. Unfortunately, cheating is much more common in the NFL than fans realize.

When I played in the NFL, there were many teams that I played against that by "magic" seemed to know what our plays were. There were teams that I played against where I would ask myself, "How on earth do they know what plays we are running?"

You should know that cheating runs rampant in the NFL and it is not just the Patriots that are cheating. Yes, they got caught because they made their cheating too obvious. But make no mistake about it, it is a fact that all NFL teams cheat to some extent.

In my NFL career I was taught that a team has to do whatever it can do to get an advantage over the competition, and that cheating is considered okay as long as you don't get caught. It is just a part of the game. But in my heart I knew that cheating was wrong. As professional athletes and professional sports teams, we are supposed to be setting a good example of the highest level of sports. But we are not setting a good example. We are not playing fair. Maybe you can say cheating is fair because everybody is doing it but I think it is wrong. I believe in fair competition and what is happening in professional sports with cheating is a disgrace.

Another huge problem caused by pro teams cheating is that it teaches our children that cheating is okay - as long as you don't get caught. As pro athletes and sports teams, we need to set an example and teach kids that cheating is wrong.

Cheating is a black and white issue and there should be no gray areas. You cannot say cheating is okay for some things but wrong for other things. Cheating is always wrong and it cannot be tolerated. Cheating has a snowball effect. Kids learn that if they don't get caught, cheating is okay. So, after cheating a few times on small things and not getting caught, they move up to cheating on bigger things. That is when the real problems start as children and young adults do not understand the consequences for their actions, and by cheating they are being a dishonorable human being. If you cannot be trusted to play fair, you should not be allowed to play.

I feel that teams that cheat need to be punished and punished severely. Besides being fined and penalized with losing draft choices. Your team should automatically lose the game too. Coaches caught cheating should be suspended without pay for the season, or even fired. There has to be a system in place where the consequences of cheating are so severe that teams will not risk getting caught. It is sad that it has to come to this but cheating cannot be tolerated.