Let's talk for a second about the word "cheating" and how the media affects perceptions.
Last year, the Seahawks won the Super Bowl with more players on their roster caught using performance enhancing drugs than any team in the league (Denver was second).
On the spectrum of cheating, it simply doesn't get much worse than this. But did the media call it Steroid-Gate? Did they once use the word "cheaters" to refer to the Seahawks? Of course not. Because that wasn't the storyline they chose.
Now let's look at what the Patriots are being accused of and why everyone has labeled them cheaters and undeserving of the Super Bowl: They might have let a tiny amount of air out of some footballs - an amount so small that even the refs couldn't notice when handling them. An advantage so negligible, that when the balls were taken out of play, the patriots actually performed better.
At worst, using slightly under-inflated balls without the refs noticing is akin to getting away with a pass interference call.
Ask yourself this - Is it possible for a team to do something any less serious and any more insignificant and still be labelled cheaters? (if you can think of something, let me know, I'm honestly curious)
Add the word "gate" to the most mundane act and it will sound like a scandal. But that doesn't make it a scandal, that's manipulation. And if it were any other team, this wouldn't make a single headline.
If a few guys on a team target players is it called bounty-gate?
No, it was because it was something led by a coach on a higher scale.
If the SEA coaching staff was found guilty of getting their players on PEDs as a whole then yes it would be.
Im sure NE players have been disciplined for PEDs and never accused of cheating either.
If this was just Brady doing this then he should be suspended. If it was from someone higher in the organization then yes it is more serious of an offense.
