why does congress want to look into"spygate"?

I see a lot of people claiming that the NFL has anti-trust protection but I didn't think that is true. My understanding is the MLB does but not the NFL. I thought when Al Davis sued the NFL proved this. That was the reason NFL teams move much more often than MLB teams. (they don't need league permission)

True, the NFL does not have the same antitrust exemptions as MLB, but the NFL does enjoy antitrust exemptions via the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, especially when it comes to broadcasting.
For discussions of the exemption, take a look at:

Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (http://www.sportslawnews.com/archive/jargon/ljsportsbroadcasingact.htm)
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Broadcasting_Act_of_1961)
ESPN - Senator wants to know why NFL destroyed Patriots spy tapes - NFL (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3225539)

Maybe someone knows Goodell's mistress, lol. Trust me when I find out who DS's mistress is Vinny will be out the door, then you guys will have to complain about me making all the decisions at Redskin Park. In all seriousness though I think that amorentz explained it best.

Lol, "Mistresses of the NFL" now that would be intresting swimsuit calender.

Arlen Spector hasn't embarrassed himself this year yet.

I'm ashamed he's the Senator for PA. The Philly vote gets him elected every time. The Philly vote screws us every election, in fact.

It should be looked into for legal reasons, but our Congress has better things to do with our money.

Arlen Spector hasn't embarrassed himself this year yet.

that single bullett theory he came up with in the jfk murder should have given him enough embarrasment for a thousand years.the reason i asked this question was because with all the other shit we have to deal with here in america,the time he will spend and the money would better be used elsewhere!knowing he's an eagles fan is enough to see why he is such a total and complete dumbass.

Another point beside the anti-monopoly benefit given to the NFL is simply the fact that Congress is body ultimately responding to the peoples demands. Average voters care about cheating in Major sports and therefore have to follow up on it. I don't see any of you posters who are bitching online complaining to your Senators, organizing groups, protesting, or doing anything constructive to address your concerns.

Professional sports are granted monopoly exemptions by Congress. That is, many of their practices are legal only because Congress has given them special permission to do so.

Congress does this with the understanding that it is a necessary evil and that it won't be abused. If cheating is occurring that the NFL is aware of, but the NFL is turning a blind eye in order to protect its monopoly, Congress has an interest in that.

This is correct and also if it seemed that the NFL was "fixing games" somehow or scripting them, then they'd no longer be a sport in my mind, and that would upset millions of voters. IT makes sense to look into it, I doubt they find anything though.

Specter: Belichick Was Taping Since 2000 - The Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/13/specter-belichick-was-ta_n_86572.html)

WASHINGTON — Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday.



"There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said.


Specter said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes.


"There were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed."......



......."Still, Specter wants to know why penalties were imposed on Belichick before the full extent of the wrongdoing was known and the tapes destroyed in a two-week span. Asked if he thinks there was a coverup, Specter demurred.


'There was an enormous amount of haste,' Specter said."

Arlen Spector hasn't embarrassed himself this year yet.

that single bullett theory he came up with in the jfk murder should have given him enough embarrasment for a thousand years.the reason i asked this question was because with all the other shit we have to deal with here in america,the time he will spend and the money would better be used elsewhere!knowing he's an eagles fan is enough to see why he is such a total and complete dumbass.


Actually, history has sort of swung Arlen's way on the single bullet. It's probably more accepted now than it was at the time of the Warren Comission.

I like the fact that Congress is investigating sports. If they weren't, they might be doing something that could cause serious damage to the country.

r51wZTaJ3AU&feature=related

Lawsuit seeks compensation for Super Bowl loss (http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d806b4b59&template=without-video&confirm=true)

This is why it's a big deal.

because it happened to be a good reason that they may have won superbowls.