"The ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to explain why the league destroyed evidence related to spying by the New England Patriots.
In a stretch of 12 days, from Sept. 9 to Sept. 20, the Patriots were caught filming the New York Jets' defensive signals in violation of NFL rules, ordered to hand over all tapes of illegal filming to the league office, fined $750,000 and made to forfeit a first-round draft pick.
Then the NFL announced it had destroyed the evidence.
Goodell levied the most severe penalty in league history on the Patriots â the loss of a first-round draft pick, a $500,000 fine for coach Bill Belichick and a $250,000 fine for the team. The league said the penalty was for the Patriots' "totality of conduct" and not simply for the Jets game."
"The reason I destroyed the tapes is they were totally consistent with what the team told me," Goodell said. "It was the appropriate thing to do, and I think it sent a message.
"The actual effectiveness of taping and taking of signals from opponents â it is something done widely in many sports. I think it probably had limited, if any, effect on the outcome of games. "
Does this add up?
the tapes had "limited, IF ANY, effect on the outcome" but we levied the biggest fine in history.... c'mon, i ain't that stupid
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2004159704_superspy02.html