Let’s kick this off with a discussion of Spy Gate. Nothing bothered me more over the weekend than the “us vs. them” attitude many football fans (and, disappointingly, some in the media) are displaying now that congress may be forced to get involved because the NFL destroyed the evidence from the first Spy Gate controversy. On top of that there are more allegations of cheating by the Patriots. The question “doesn’t Congress have anything better to do?” has been asked repeatedly over the last couple days. While there are plenty of other more important issues for Congress to tackle, don’t forget this is much more than simply a football issue. If a referee misses a holding call, that is a football issue that would not warrant congressional interest. But the fact the NFL, which has an antitrust exemption and is a billion dollar American industry, has destroyed evidence about a potential cheating scandal and refused to answer questions about it seems like an important matter.
In the interest of fairness, it should be pointed out that the man who is spearheading this matter, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R -PA), has received a great deal of contributions from Comcast, a company which is fighting the NFL over the cost of carrying the NFL Network.
However, regardless of what Specter’s motivation is, football fans should not be so provincial as to feel they are part of the NFL family and somehow Congress is trying to hurt them. ESPN’s Gregg Easterbrook hits the nail right on the head when he concludes his February 3 contribution to ESPN.com
by saying
“When news of the second act of Spygate hit the sports world Friday, there was considerable backlash. Many radio and TV analysts initially reacted angrily, as if to say, “This is our private universe. In our private universe, everything is perfect. Keep reality out.” But if you love athletic competition, if you want sports to be important and generate lots of money and attention, the games must be honest. Any indication of dishonesty should be deeply unsettling.”
There is no reason to blindly defend the NFL, even if you believe Commissioner Goodell at his word. Football is only a game, but is also a billion-dollar industry that looks out for only its best interest and may have committed a form of fraud if they knowingly for destroyed evidence in Spy Gate.
Fantasy Links
Pats Pulpit (A Patriots Blog) is not a fun place to be right now, although the writers there seem to be more gracias about the loss than Bill Belichick. (Link courtesy: Awful Announcing)
Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot takes a look at the Orioles top prospects.
Over at Baseball HQ, take a look at Ron Shandler’s examination of why baseball’s drop in popularity may be an indirect result of the internet.
Any time there is a new post at Fire Joe Morgan it is cause for celebration. Celebrate!!
