If U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter has his way, the law that allows the National Football League to sign television contracts on behalf of all of its 32 teams will be repealed.
The
Pennsylvania Republican plans to introduce a bill in the next Congress that would throw out the NFL's antitrust exemption under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. Specter says he isn't alone in his
desire to take on the pros: "I think I'll have a lot of company, and that is the football fans of America, who are being gouged," he says.
But NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said things are
just fine as the league's "television practices have been recognized as consistent with the public interest." He says the give fans lots of programming either free-of-charge or at very little cost.
"There is no basis now to repeal statutory provisions that have supported the development of these pro-consumer and pro-fan policies," he says. Specter's clout, however, is about to
diminish as he hands the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee over to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). The Vermont Democrat has not taken a stand on the NFL issue, but did support legislation that
narrowed Major League Baseball's antitrust exemption.
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