Polito's Take: Patriots lose their way

It's ironic that Rolling Stone magazine, after glamorizing Boston Marathon bombing suspect rock star Dzhokhar, has painted a less than flattering picture of our hometown team the New England Patriots. If the allegations in the magazine story concerning Aaron Hernandez and the New England Patriots are true, we have another situation where sports business was put before sportsman-like conduct and the safety of the public.

It's deja vu, just like in the Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. People knew, but they looked the other way. Why? Because there was a lot of money at stake.

What did the Patriots know and when did they know it? Hernandez was drafted in the fourth round when his talent was more first or second round caliber. The Pats knew they were getting a bargain, a risky bargain. Again, that's a business decision. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bad one. Can they still say they were duped?

We need to understand that "The Patriot Way" is first and foremost to entertain fans and make money. They can lose their way on the road to those goals, just like any other business. It happens on Wall Street, Main Street, and in people's personal lives. Every day organizations say, "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

It would be nice to think that our team has a code of conduct and a set of business ethics that will not be compromised. Maybe we do, maybe most of the stuff in the Rolling Stone article is untrue. But, even if some of it is true, business was placed before doing the right thing and that is always bad business.

Cox Media Group