Have The Patriots Lost Their Way

"The Patriot Way" has been the mantra that has been touted in New England over the last 10 years.  It exemplifies the business like atmosphere in which the New England Patriots conduct themselves on and off the field.  It is a higher standard to which the team and its staff puts on itself, it is a team first mentality that goes with success.  It has always been believed that if a player, troubled or not, found their way on the Patriots roster they could not help but succumb to "The Patriot Way".  It has always been believed that the Patriots would never associate with deeply troubled players, and if they did it was always perceived that those players were a low risk, high reward project for the team.

Patriot fans remember the drafting of Christian Peter in 1996.  A week later the team relinquished the rights to him because of his criminal past for violence against women.  The Patriots statement was that Peter's behavior was "incompatible with our organization's standards of acceptable conduct." That is the standard that New England Patriots had put on themselves and that is what the team and its fans have come to accept from "The Patriot Way".

I have to believe that "The Patriot Way" took somewhat of a hit this past week with the arrest of Patriots Tight End, Aaron Hernandez for the murder of Odin Lloyd of Dorchester.  How could this happen to a New England Patriots player?  When the story first broke, every Patriot fan could not help to think that there is no way this could happen to a player on our beloved team because it just does not happen with the Patriots.  As the investigation continued and the subsequent arrest of Hernandez came out, it became reality.  To the Patriots credit they cut ties and released Hernandez before the charge of murder was made public.

This has been a topic of conversation among many sports talk radio hosts and columnists for the past week.  It begs the question, is "The Patriot Way" a real thing or have the Patriots been hitting on twenty and drawing aces all these years.  I have to believe it is a little bit of both.  Up until the Patriots won a Super Bowl "The Patriot Way" was a real thing.  Incidents with players and the law were few and far between and they were always handled by the organization appropriately.  Then came the trade for embattled Cincinnati Bengals running back Corey Dillon.  Dillon also had charges of abuse against women for allegedly choking his wife in a domestic dispute.  That is the first instance of the Patriots contradicting themselves.  Dillon's behavior was not incompatible with the organizations standard of acceptable conduct because he was a Pro-Bowl running back that filled a desperate need for the Patriots.

Then there was the trade for Randy Moss, Albert Haynesworth, Chad Johnson and the return of wide receiver Donte' Stallworth.  All of these were designed to be pet projects and their presence in New England were uneventful but filled with skepticism.  The fan based cheered for them but were very protective of "The Patriot Way", thus the skepticism.  So drug charges, assault, child support and vehicular homicide were also acceptable conduct set forth by the Patriots?

Rich Garven of Telegram & Gazette stated in his column on Sunday that "The Patriot Way" was more reflective of what the players do on the field and not so much off.  With all due respect to Mr. Garven but the debate on "The Patriot Way" would not be going on if it did not include off the field incidents, and an incident such as the Hernandez one tarnishes that brand.  That is why the Patriots immediately released Hernandez upon learning of the charges.  That is why the team is offering to fans who own Hernandez #81 jersey a chance to trade it in for a new one at no charge. Because they are trying to restore the tarnish caused by Hernandez.

Have the Patriots lost their way?  I don't think so.  However, I most likely will never say that the Patriots would never sign a certain type of player because they don't fit the Patriot mold.  That's not fair to the Patriots but it is the reality of professional football.  The players feel untouchable and think they can do whatever they want.  Since the Super Bowl in February, twenty seven NFL players have been arrested for various crimes.  On the same day that Hernandez was charged with murder, Cleveland Browns rookie Ausar Walcott was charged with attempted murder.  Let's not forget Javon Belcher who killed his girlfriend, then killed himself.

There is a vetting issue in the NFL and when you are dealing with a multi-billion dollar business there shouldn't be.  David Steele of the Sporting News wrote that the league should fine teams when their players are arrested and charged with serious crimes.  The Patriots are going to lose $12 million because of Aaron Hernandez, which is enough of a fine.  The owners of the teams just need to be better about giving out their money to sociopaths such as FORMER Patriot Aaron Hernandez.

R.I.P. Odin Lloyd

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife