How are the Patriots Like Richard Nixon?

Because the coverup is worse than the actual crime. Is the NFL protecting its glamor team from the shame that goes with their cheating? That seems to be what Arlen Specter wants to know. He’s asking why the NFL surreptitiously destroyed all the evidence associated with the Patriots’ illicit taping of opponents’ signals, and why they’ve refused to discuss what they found on the tapes.

Mr. Specter first wrote Mr. Goodell about the tapes on Nov. 15. After more than a month passed without a response, Mr. Specter wrote to him again. The league responded to Mr. Specter late Thursday afternoon. A spokesman said the letters did not reach the league office until late last week. The league added that it spoke to Mr. Specter’s office several times during November and December, but that the letters were never mentioned. Mr. Specter said the league had told his office last week it would not respond until after the Super Bowl. Joe Browne, the N.F.L.’s executive vice president for internal affairs, said, “The irony is that we have been in contact with the senator’s office several times in recent weeks.” He added that “the issue of these letters was not discussed.” Mr. Specter called Mr. Browne’s response “untrue.”

The Brookings Institution’s Gregg Easterbrook has written on the strong circumstantial evidence that the NFL acted to hide evidence of a more serious offense by the Patriots — perhaps including cheating in one or more of their prior Super Bowl victories. Easterbrook chronicles the NFL’s sudden decision to destroy the tapes without giving a logical explanation. He also notes that the NFL’s spokesperson refused to deny that the tapes — prior to being destroyed — contained evidence of cheating in the Super Bowl. Easterbrook says: