The TaxProf blog, which gets its second salute from the Law Blog today, tackled an interesting question: Whether Bill Belichick (pictured), head coach of the New England Patriots, can deduct the $500,000 fine -- the biggest ever for an NFL coach -- he received after violating league rules by videotaping defensive signals from New York Jets coaches in the Pats' regular-season opener earlier this month. (The team was fined $250,000.) The answer: Yes.

The blog excerpted an email discussion by 12 tax law professors who, after 10,000 words on the matter, including testy exchanges over the interpretation of some old tax cases, mostly agreed that the fine is deductible under section 162 of the internal revenue code, "trade or business expenses."

Wrote Myron Grauer of Capital University Law School: "Because, unfortunately, in this day and age, it probably is 'ordinary' for coaches and players in professional sports to cheat and, if caught, to be fined by the league, the fine levied on the Patriots' coach can be viewed as an ordinary and necessary business expense...."

After some profs raised questions about whether being fined for "cheating" was an ordinary expense, Mike McIntyre of Wayne State University slammed the tax law hammer to end the discussion.

"[T]he fine was for violating a rule, not for cheating. The Patriots were not accused of cheating by the Commissioner and were not fined for cheating....No professional football game is played without someone breaking the rules. It is expected that people will break the rules," McIntyre wrote.