Congress wants Patriots cheating explanation

February 1, 2008

A lawmaker wants to know the reason why the commissioner of the NFL destroyed evidence in the New England Patriots spying case.

The Patriots were also fined $750,000 by the NFL and forced to give up a first-round draft pick.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he wants the commissioner of the NFL to answer questions about destroyed evidence in the New England Patriots spying case.

Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he wants NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to appear before the committee and explain why the NFL destroyed tapes confiscated from the Patriots, The New York Times reported Friday.

The team was caught violating NFL rules by videotaping defensive signals used by the New York Jets between Sept. 9 and 20, and the team was ordered to hand all the tapes over the league's office. The NFL subsequently announced that it had destroyed the tapes.

"That requires an explanation," Specter said. "The NFL has a very preferred status in our country with their antitrust exemption. The American people are entitled to be sure about the integrity of the game. It's analogous to the CIA destruction of tapes. Or any time you have records destroyed."

The Patriots were also fined $750,000 by the NFL and forced to give up a first-round draft pick.