why does congress want to look into"spygate"?

[SBXVII]

Originally Posted by redwagonskins

No worries. I think you have a very valid and cogent argument. What I think is funny is that in the face of the law and the facts of this matter, people think Congress has no duty to get involved. Well in that case, let the NFL give up their limited exemption and then Congress won't have a say. Until then, Congress is going to stick their nose in whenever there is a possible violation of their limited antitrust exemption (in the case of steroids or cheating).

I would agree with anti trust/cheating but this whole baseball/steroids issue.....investigating whether players used steroids back in the 80's and 90's is rediculous. If they are so concerned then appoint a DEA agent to investigate and inform all parties that if they need to co opperate with the investigation. If someone used drugs against the law then charge them. If the Doctor was giving it out drugs like candy charge him. Why do we have polititions asking the questions. Assign an investigator and allow him or her to do their job and report back to them with a final report.

[Paintrain]

What else is going on for them to spend time on? It's not like there's a pointless war going on or a flailing economy or record foreclosures going on.. Geez, some people are so clueless!

Seriously though, if they were going to waste time on something frivolous, I wish it was spent on ending the writers strike earlier. Having to wait another year for '24' to come back is just un-damn-American!!

[MPNRedskins]

Congress has nothing better to do.

[WaldSkins]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

What else is going on for them to spend time on? It's not like there's a pointless war going on or a flailing economy or record foreclosures going on.. Geez, some people are so clueless!

Seriously though, if they were going to waste time on something frivolous, I wish it was spent on ending the writers strike earlier. Having to wait another year for '24' to come back is just un-damn-American!!

Yea im kinda waiting for Prison Break to return so i have some entertainment to keep me interested until football season

[rypper11]

First off let me state that I think Arlen is an idiot. He's a crusader who thinks way too much of himself. Amorentz is completely right. Remember the USFL? They got a dollar from the NFL for "unfair monopolistic advantage."
The real concern of SPygate is the slippery slope or that there is more to the story that is being intentionally hidden. Usually evidence of a crime is kept and catalogued. If the Patriots wanted to appeal the decision that they lose a 1st round pick anytime before the draft (which, by law, is their right), there is now no evidence they ever did anything wrong.
The secondary concern is that the cheating was worse than Goodell and the Patriots are admitting. If it "significantly" helped them win Super Bowls and was against the self-regulated rules of the NFL, then more action would have to be taken against them. Why would Congress care about this? A lot of money is involved between interstate and international companies and consumers. Couldn't the Eagles claim consumer fraud if it was deemed that the Patriots routinely cheated and nothing is being done and they have subsequently been financially harmed due to their Super Bowl loss? From a dollar perspective, the Patriots make millions off of their liscensed merchandise world-wide. Obviously they would have made far less (especially outside of their market) if they had not won three Super Bowls.
The Patriots losing the SB further hurts their credibility. Brady has been known as the QB who can read a defense better than anyone else and always seems to know where to go with the ball before the play even begins. Against the Giants (and to a lesser degree the Chargers), he looked lost. Was it because he didn't know the defensive play calls like he normally does? I don't think this is the case, but it will be brought up in the coming months by those that are looking to discredit the Patriots success even further.

[SBXVII]

I'm not against the investigations...I'm against who we have doing them. Why are polititions who are voted in waisting not only their time(which they could be doing something else for their state or our country) but our tax dollars that is paying for their time they are waisting?

Also why do we have several polititions investigating? Assaign one politition and let him meet with everyone. I guess they thing if sports is going to buy off a politition to make the investigation look favorably then let them buy off a whole slew of polititions. lol.

I would only suggest that the group of polititions decide on one investigator and then when complete have them report to the group at the end. Then the polititions can look into anti trust/cheating, but allow the investigator to do his job and any breaking of law allow charges to be filed by them.

[Stuck in TX]

if congress doesnt investigate than who? You all have valid points about what is going on with our tax money. America needs healthcare, roadwork and education improvements. The last thing congress needs to be doing is investigating a recreational sport.... Maybe this will be the initiative needed to create some sort of investigation commitee. If there already is one, it should be better. IMO the only reason congress feels the need to intervene is because Spector feels that the investigation that is taking place now is not enough. I applaud him for doing so and hope that Goddell is paying attention. Maybe a more efficient way of dealing with rule breakers will come out of all of this, and our tax dollars will not be used in the future.

[Hijinx]

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)

[redwagonskins]

Originally Posted by Hijinx

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
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ESPN - Senator wants to know why NFL destroyed Patriots spy tapes - NFL

[Dirtbag59]

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.

[Monkeydad]

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.

[redskinsfanatic]

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.

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by redskinsfanatic

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.

[hooskins]

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.

[rypper11]

Lawsuit seeks compensation for Super Bowl loss

This is why it's a big deal.