“Cheating requires a benefit from the act.”
No, it doesn’t. *Attempting* to get something by doing something “illegal” is all that is needed.
Again, look at the post about burglary. Doesn’t matter you never managed to make off with the goods.
“Are you positive that no other team did the same thing this year?”
Again, rationalizing with the “everyone does it”. Clinton’s OK because everyone does that. Probably many teams have and are, and hopefully they’ll be caught and spanked. That doesn’t erase the fact that the Pats were caught and deserve the attention for it.
1 doesn’t go easy on robbers just because they aren’t the only 1s doing it and lots of others have never been caught.
The Pat's got attention for it. They were hit hard by the league. Nothing more needs to be said. So, the burglar who gets caught, even though he did not get anything, and does time for his act in prison, and then is let out after doing his sentence, should receive continual criticism without having done another thing wrong? That's the postion you are taking. No one deserves a another chance. Pathetic.