Senator Arlen Specter (Republicrat-PA) has decided that Roger Goodell’s reason for the NFL’s destruction of its own property after its own investigation into the Patriots isn’t good enough. He is calling for a meeting with the NFL commissioner after the Pro Bowl, according to ESPN.

Specter told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on Sunday, “The commissioner’s explanation as to why he destroyed the tapes does not ring true.”

I had a tiny bit of understanding for the federal government’s investigation of baseball and steriods because of Major League Baseball’s exemption to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The NFL has had no such benefit from the federal government — we still remember the USFL and the XFL, even though they ended up failing.

The public can take its own recourse if it thinks the NFL is corrupt. Another football league can be formed. Other sports alternatives (basketball, hockey, etc.) can be pursued.

There is no need for the federal government to get involved, and if President Bush had not backed Specter in the 2004 PA primary where Pat Toomey could have beat Specter, this waste of federal resources could have been avoided.