New York Jets Cheating History

51
NYJ
TL;DR:

• the JETS are ELITE NFL cheaters!

• they have a CheatScore of 51?

• they've executed 14 real cheats! ?

• share page: http://YourTeamCheats.com/NYJ?

 

All New York Jets Cheats:

Trippygate (2010) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: New York Jets strength coach Sal Alosi stuck out his left knee and intentionally tripped Miami Dolphins cornerback and gunner Nolan Carroll as he ran up the sideline on punt coverage during the Jets' 10-6 loss to the Miami Dolphins in their 2010 Week 14 regular season game. Alosi later admitted that the tripping was intentional.

Before the play, a number of Jets players formed a "Tripping Wall" on the sidelines in preparation for the obstruction to come. It is unclear if Alosi was acting on his own or with the knowledge of former special-teams coordinator Mike Westhoff and former head coach Rex Ryan.

Said Dolphins inside linebacker Channing Crowder about the Jets, "They're cheaters. They do what they do. They cheat. They talk junk. But we beat the hell out of them today." Added running back Ricky Williams: "It's the Jets right? We're not surprised."

Fortunately for Carroll, and especially Alosi, the Dolphins cornerback was not seriously hurt by the ill-advised cheap shot. After the game, Alosi issued a statement of apology.

VICTIM: Miami Dolphins (Specifically, CB Nolan Carroll)

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The NFL suspended Alosi for the rest of the 2010 regular season (3 games) and playoffs without pay. He was also fined $25,000. The league fined the Jets $100,000 for the incident. As of early 2015, Alosi is employed as the strength and conditioning coordinator for UCLA football.

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AWARDS EARNED: Schoolyard Cheating!Cojones Ferreas!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 10.0

PEDSgate (7x since 1989) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) are used by players to illegally improve athletic performance above what legal training and preparation can do.

Players who illegally improve their performance unfairly penalize players who follow the rules. They not only put those players at risk for physical injury, but they also affect their economic livelihood by impacting their perceived value and their ability to secure appropriately-valued playing contracts.

SEVERITY = 0.5 video cameras per punished incident. Includes all documented infractions from 1960 to present with this Wikipedia page as the primary source.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: Each player was suspended 4 games by the league for violating the league's performance enhancing drug policy.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!A Decade of Deceit!Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 7.0

Tampergate (2014: Revis) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In April of 2015, the New York Jets were fined $100,000 for illegally tampering with New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis. During a December 29, 2014 press conference, Johnson spoke glowingly about the New England Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback Darrelle Revis, saying he would "love for Darrelle to come back" to New York. The New England Patriots quickly filed tampering charges against the Jets and asked the NFL to look into Johnson's comments.

Using sock puppets like Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News -- a local New York entertainer who doesn't believe that tampering should be an NFL penalty -- the Jets were able to plant stories in the New York media that they were planning to pursue Revis almost a week in advance of the Patriots declining their option on him. This served as a clear indication to Revis and his agents not to sign with the Patriots during the exclusive negotiating period and ultimately prompted the NFL investigation of the Jets.

On February 20, 2017, Mehta reported that the Jets' tampering was much more significant that this one Woody comment. Said Mehta:

“Back-channel discussions with the Jets in February [2015] set the foundation for a Revis reunion. Team officials in stealth mode communicated with Revis, Inc., through private cell phones and face-to-face covert meetings at the 2015 Scouting Combine rather than make calls from the team’s landlines at their Florham Park facility. No paper trails were a must.”

According to Michael Hurley of CBS Boston, Mehta claims that Woody Johnson was not only aware of this clandestine recruiting effort but also “endorsed all of it.”

Per the NFL policy: "Any public or private statement of interest, qualified or unqualified, in another club's player to that player's agent or representative, or to a member of the news media, is a violation of the Anti-Tampering Policy."

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The Jets were fined $100,000 for illegally tampering with Revis.

This one was pretty cut-and-dried. The Jets tampered in an explicit way to avoid detection in order to lure the best defender away from an AFC East rival. In a move to try to distract from Woody's tampering infraction, the Jets later filed a baseless counter-claim against the Patriots and owner Robert Kraft about statements he made explaining how he felt about Revis leaving. Not surprisingly, the league ruled that the Patriots were not guilty of tampering.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!Avoid Media Scrutiny!Goalie for the Dart Team!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 6.0

Spygate (2006) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: On November 12, 2006 -- two months after the NFL sent its initial 2006 memo forbidding videotaping from the sidelines, endzones and "other locations accessible to club staff members during the game" and one year before the New England Patriots infamous Spygate "scandal"-- the Jets were caught filming the Patriots plays and defensive signals from both endzones of Gillette Stadium. The Patriots had the New York Jets employee removed from the area, according to published reports.

Confessed Jets head coach Eric Mangini, "we taped the game is what we taped, and we taped end-zone copy of the game, and we tape a double-end zone, which is standard operating procedure for us. We request that every single road game, and it's usually granted if physically it's possible. And when people request it from us, we do the same thing: We grant it."

When confronted, Mangini nervously denied that the Jets videotaping included the Patriots defensive signals, but the Jets' tapes of the game were never reviewed by the league so his statement was never verified. What they videotaped didn't matter, though, because after the 2006 NFL memo was sent, the league's newly articulated rule prohibited all video recording (of any part of the game) from the coaches' booth, on the field, in the locker room or any other location that is accessible to coaches or team personnel.

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: This Jets infraction was identical to the videotaping infraction that the Patriots would be harshly punished for a year later. The NFL let this one slide, however, since NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell did not feel that the Jets were a threat to the competitive balance of the league. Since this is the same cheat as the Patriots' Spygate (2007) it is given the same severity rating as that one.

Side note on the competitve harmlessness of the Jets:things that have happened since the Jets last won a Super Bowl.

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AWARDS EARNED: Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!Avoid Media Scrutiny!Everyone Was Doing It!Spawn the Spoof!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 5.0

Injurygate (2010) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The league punished the Jets after Brett Favre continued to talk (and talk ... and talk) about the late-season biceps injury that the Jets had consistently failed to disclose the prior year. The league found that the team illegally failed to place Favre on the injury report during the final month of last season even though he had a torn biceps tendon.

Hiding injuries affects an opponent's preparation and the NFL has stepped up policing such practices. Regarding this case, NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell said that the case was an opportunity for the league to stress that all teams must abide by the injury report rules.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The NFL assessed $125,000 in fines to the New York Jets and former coach Eric Mangini on Wednesday for violating the league's rules on injury reporting with former quarterback Brett Favre last season. The league announced it had fined the Jets $75,000 and Mangini and Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum $25,000 each.

The league apparently found the Jets injury-hiding more serious than similar practices by the Bills and Redskins, who were fined only $20,000 each.

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AWARDS EARNED: Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!Champs of the Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Kballgate (2009) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In 2009, the NFL suspended a member of the New York Jets equipment staff for attempting to use "unapproved equipment to prep the K[icking] Balls" before a game against the New England Patriots. The infraction was revealed in the petition filed by the NFLPA in the Tom Brady Deflategate suspension (see page 37).

VICTIM: New England Patriots

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The NFL suspended the equipment staff member, but did not investigate or discipline the Jets kicker for “general awareness” or specific involvement, even though the Jets kicker (like Tom Brady in Deflategate) was the player most likely to benefit from the behavior and, in turn, the player most likely to be aware of the conduct.

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AWARDS EARNED: Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 3.0

Tampergate (2009: Crabtree) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The San Francisco 49ers, frustrated at the alleged obstruction of their efforts to sign their No. 10 NFL draft pick Michael Crabtree, filed tampering charges against the New York Jets.

In what executives and reporters viewed as a violation worse than Spygate the 49ers accused the Jets of playing a role in undercutting San Francisco’s ability to sign its first-round draft pick.

While the charges didn’t have the false sparks of Spygate, it’s was viewed as no less serious in many NFL corners.

VICTIM: San Francisco 49ers

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Under pressure from the alleged Jets tampering, the 49ers were able to work out a deal with their wide receiver. Gregg Rosenthal of NBC Sports reported on October 10, 2009 that, "a source with knowledge of the situation believes that the wideout’s holdout ended suddenly not because Crabtree was ready to play football but because of the pending tampering case that the 49ers has filed against the Jets. The source firmly believes that the investigation was beginning to uncover evidence that the Jets had indeed tampered with Crabtree through his agent, Eugene Parker.

As well, 49ers owner Jed Yourk told KNBR in San Francisco that "it was clear there was some evidence that the Jets talked to [Crabtree]," which would be proof of tampering.

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AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Deflategate (1992) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Ex-Jets and Retired Pro Bowl quarterback Jeff Blake confessed in an interview that removing air from footballs was common when he played in the NFL from 1992-2005.

"I'm just going to let the cat of the bag, every team does it, every game, it has been since I played," the ex-Jets QB said Wednesday in a radio interview on the "Midday 180" show on Nashville's 104.5 The Zone. "Cause when you take the balls out of the bag, they are rock hard. And you can't feel the ball as well. It's too hard.

"Everybody puts the pin in and takes just enough air out of the ball that you can feel it a little better. But it's not the point to where it's flat. So I don't know what the big deal is. It's not something that's not been done for 20 years."

Blake says that he'd order ball boys to let air out of his footballs just before the start of games during his entire NFL career, which included time with the Jets in 1992.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Their player admitted to the cheating.

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AWARDS EARNED: Everyone Was Doing It!Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!Avoid Media Scrutiny!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Injurygate (1997) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: In October 1997, the New York Jets were fined $10,000 for violating NFL policy on the reporting of injuries.

Jets starting center Roger Duffy injured his knee in practice on Thursday, Oct. 9, and did not play in the previous Sunday's game against Miami. The Jets did not make proper notification after Duffy was injured, said then-NFL executive vice president Jeffrey Pash.

NFL rules require clubs to provide a list of all injured players to the NFL office each week on Wednesday and Thursday for distribution to the media. If injuries occur after those reports are filed, the club is obligated to advise the NFL office, the opposing team and the media.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? Yes

PUNISHMENT: The Jets were fined $10,000 for this cheating infraction.

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 2.0

Gustygate (1980s-2000s) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: The old Meadowlands -- home to the New York Giants and New York Jets - was notorious for gusty winds that seemed to blow in circular patterns, giving quarterbacks and kickers nightmares. The wind was bad enough on its own, but as the New York Times reported, some opponents accused the home teams of opening the stadium's tunnel doors to make the wild gusts even worse on the field at strategic times.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: Another field manipulation cheat.

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AWARDS EARNED: All Blowed Up!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Audiblegate (2007) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: After their September 16, 2007 game, Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick accused the New York Jets of using an "illegal" ploy to draw Baltimore offside during Sunday's game.

Billick said Monday that the Jets' defense shouted out signals to intentionally throw off the Baltimore offense. Billick claimed the tactic led to the three illegal procedure penalties against the Ravens.

"They did an outstanding job. I credit the New York Jets. Their defensive line and linebackers did a very, very effective job of illegally simulating the snap count," Billick said. "They did it the whole game long. It needs to be caught."

VICTIM: Baltimore Ravens

PUNISHED? No

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CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Spygate (2018) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: After their 2018 week one game against the Detroit Lions, New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee admitted that the Jets defense did so well because they were stealing signals from the Lions.

Confessed Lee:

We were calling out their plays as he [Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford] was getting up to the line. We knew his signals. We knew everything."

VICTIM: Detroit Lions

PUNISHED? No but ... it's more probable than not that this was cheating

PUNISHMENT: As we all know, stealing signals is THE cardinal sin in the NFL. Shame on you Jets, shame on you.

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AWARDS EARNED: Repeat The Cheat!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 1.0

Spygate (2011) flagto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: The New York Jets

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: A picture (seen here) from the Pats-Jets 2011 game clearly shows an unidentified person wearing Jets gear and a Jets Staff credential filming the opposing sideline over Jets coordinator Brian Schottenheimer‘s shoulder.

NFL Network's Albert Breer quickly deemed the filming "well within the rules." Breer posted the specific rules to his Twitter timeline, which read, "Club video crews & video crews from television stations that produce and telecast club-licensed programming may also be permitted to have a camera on the sidelines to shoot footage for those club-licensed programs only."

According to Breer, part two of the rule reads, "Home & visiting club-related sideline video personnel [coaches' shows, team programming] will wear lime green vests." Spoiler alert: the guy is wearing a lime green vest.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Not illegal.

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AWARDS EARNED: Falsely Accused!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

 

Leaguewide Cheats:

Tampergate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Tampering with free agents is rampant, it's laughable and it is against the rules (PDF). It's so bad across every team in the league that the NFL had to create a three-day legal tampering period. However, tampering still regularly occurs long before that annual three-day window opens. On March 9, 2015 the league once again felt compelled to warn all 32 teams about not tampering.

Why is tampering considered a problem? Because tampering with players still under contract makes it difficult for clubs to re-sign their own talent. It also puts those few teams that actually follow NFL guidelines at a distinct disadvantage. In many cases, contract agreements are in place days before any negotiations are allowed to begin.

This isn't fair, it isn't legal, and it is blatant cheating by the teams who engage in the practice.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No but...

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Roger Goodell is doing all he can to curtail and punish the "commonplace" practice, although it admits that there is so much tampering that it is hard to police it all.

The CheatPoints earned for this leaguewide cheat is for all of this team's tampering incidents that have gone undiscovered or unproven. If specific instances are discovered, they are punished on top of this leaguewide penalty.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Headsetgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: it's a common complaint around the NFL. In late, close games, the helmet communicators of visiting teams suddenly "malfunction" and stop working. It has been accepted as standard practice in the league. Are you on the road and the game is close? Then you are going to have problems with your headset.

In recent years, the Patriots have accused the Colts of doing it and the Jaguars have made the same charge of the Patriots. The Redskins accused the Buccaneers of disabling their headsets, and Tampa Bay accused Dallas. The Giants openly bragged about doing it way back in 1956. The charges go on and on and on.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

SHARE:

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 4.0

Spygate (until 2006) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Stealing your opponent's signals has always been common and never been illegal.

Said former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, "We had people that always tried to steal signals. Stealing someone's signals was a part of the game, and everyone attempted to do that." Admitted former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson: "When I came into the NFL, back in 1989, I talked to a Kansas City scout and he said, 'Here's what we do, we videotape the opposing team's signals and then we sync it up with the game film.' So I did it." Bragged, former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan: "Our guy keeps a pair of binoculars on their signal-callers every game, with any luck, we have their defensive signals figured out by halftime. Sometimes, by the end of the first quarter."

NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell confirmed this himself in 2008, saying that the issue was not stealing signals, that is allowed "and it is done quite widely." The issue is where and how you record them. If you chose to videotape them, then (after 2006) you have to do that from a league approved location. If you hire lip readers, they can do it from your coaches lap, if you want.

After 2006, examples of allowed videotaping locations are: the luxury boxes, media booths and other enclosed spaces. Expressly prohibited locations are the sidelines, the field, locker rooms, the coaches booth or any other place accessible to team coaches and staff. The point of the rule is to not allow the footage to be useful in the current game.

Prior to the September 6, 2006 memo and, 2007 follow up, from NFL head of football operations Ray Anderson, there was no league restriction on filming location, which is the reason the memo was sent.

Many NFL head coaches have downplayed the significance of the practice, saying that attempting to decipher opponent's signals was a long standing practice and entirely common throughout the league.

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: NFL commissioner and former Jets public relations intern Rodger Goodell suggested that the responsibility was on teams to conceal their messages, not on the ones trying to steal them. During his news conference before the 2007 Super Bowl he said that any coach who did not expect signals to be stolen was "stupid."

Prior to 2006, every NFL team is assumed to have done it, but none of them broke a rule. You can't punish something that is not prohibited. Filming from the sidelines was not prohibited until 2006 and filming your opponent's signals from approved locations has never been prohibited, even today.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

Scrapsgate (ongoing) flagsto top ⤴home ⇐awards ⤵

TEAM: All 32 NFL Teams

SEVERITY:scale

SUMMARY: Sign an opponent's recently-cut player to your practice squad to get intel on their plays, signals and tactics. This is not illegal and is a leaguewide practice.

Said one player, who chose to remain anonymous as he was still in the league as of 2015, "If teams have an opening at a certain position, they might not be looking for perhaps the best player to fill it on their practice squad. Instead, they might go for someone who has access to the opposing team’s playbook."

“Let’s say we’re playing the Jaguars in seven days and you want to know more about their playbook. From time to time teams will sign people off of practice squads. You don’t have to put them on active roster so if there’s a need for more depth at linebacker and you’re playing Jacksonville, there would be more of a chance to sign a linebacker off the team you’re about to play’s practice squad and hoping that the person you’re about to sign will divulge information about the playbook.”

VICTIM: The entire league

PUNISHED? No

PUNISHMENT: Not illegal.

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AWARDS EARNED:Everyone Was Doing It!

CHEATPOINTS EARNED:+ 0.0

awardEARNED: "A Decade of Deceit!"

CRITERIA: Repeat the same cheat at least ten years later!
EARNED FOR:PEDSgate (7x since 1989) 

awardEARNED: "All Blowed Up!"

CRITERIA: Be involved in a scandal that is blown way out of proportion by the media and fans of other teams!
EARNED FOR:Gustygate (1980s-2000s) 

awardEARNED: "Avoid Media Scrutiny!"

CRITERIA: Successfully attract less than 5% of the typical Patriots "cheating" scandal coverage!
EARNED FOR:Spygate (2006)  Deflategate (1992)  Tampergate (2014: Revis) 

awardEARNED: "Champs of the Cheat!"

CRITERIA: Show, through consistency or creative flourish, that your team is the best at a particular type of cheat!
EARNED FOR:Injurygate (2010) 

awardEARNED: "Cojones Ferreas!"

CRITERIA: Construct a cheat of the boldest variety, demonstrating your complete disregard for the rules and consequences for smashing them with your beefy man-parts!
EARNED FOR:Trippygate (2010) 

awardEARNED: "Everyone Was Doing It!"

CRITERIA: Successfully "cheat" in a way that many other teams have (bonus points for not getting caught)!
EARNED FOR:Scrapsgate (ongoing)  Spygate (2006)  Tampergate (2009: Crabtree)  Deflategate (1992)  Spygate (until 2006)  PEDSgate (7x since 1989)  Tampergate (2014: Revis)  Tampergate (ongoing) 

awardEARNED: "Falsely Accused!"

CRITERIA: Be the innocent target of a illegitimate cheating accusation!
EARNED FOR:Spygate (2011) 

awardEARNED: "Goalie for the Dart Team!"

CRITERIA: Execute a cheat that requires significant anti-intellect to attempt, let alone thinking you'll get away with it!
EARNED FOR:Tampergate (2014: Revis) 

awardEARNED: "Hip-Hip-Hypocritical!"

CRITERIA: Call out another team for cheating while actively cheating yourself (bonus points for calling out another team's cheating while executing the same cheat yourself)!
EARNED FOR:Kballgate (2009)  Deflategate (1992)  PEDSgate (7x since 1989)  Spygate (2006)  Injurygate (2010)  Tampergate (2014: Revis) 

awardEARNED: "Repeat The Cheat!"

CRITERIA: Successfully repeat the same cheat multiple times!
EARNED FOR:PEDSgate (7x since 1989)  Tampergate (2009: Crabtree)  Spygate (2018) 

awardEARNED: "Schoolyard Cheating!"

CRITERIA: Complete a cheat in the NFL that you could just as likely see on a schoolyard playground!
EARNED FOR:Trippygate (2010) 

awardEARNED: "Spawn the Spoof!"

CRITERIA: Successfully create and execute a cheat that nobody else has thought of!
EARNED FOR:Spygate (2006) 

Is there a New York Jets cheating scandal that I'm missing? Do I have a fact wrong? A broken link? Email me with your comment and supporting link and I'll fix or add it.

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