One of the more idiotic aspects of Volin's dumb Belichick theory is the premise that the league would have been forced to "ban Belichick for life" had he been found complicit in DFG. Really? That would have been the only punishment option? For Spygate, BB received a $500,000 fine. So the next step up from that (for a "repeat offender") is a lifetime ban? Really? There are no other options between "$500,000 fine" and "lifetime ban"? Like, I don't know, maybe another fine? Or a fine combined with a multi-game suspension? Or, an entire year suspension, a la Sean Payton (who had "general awareness" of Bountygate)?
Beleving that Belichick knew about or had a hand in the alleged ball deflation also requires you to believe that he just flat-out lied through his teeth during the entire "Mona Lisa Vito" press conference.
Seriously, the "Belichick knew, and the league is protecting him!" thing may possibly be the stupidest single thing I've heard during this entire ridiculous pseudo-scandal. So naturally, dumbass Ben Volin eats it right up.