Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter said the New England Patriots cheated their way to championships and that the NFL's destruction of Spygate tapes suggests the league had something to hide.

Porter, who played eight seasons with Pittsburgh before signing with Miami last year, told ESPN that the Patriots' titles should have an asterisk. He also said that any player who lost to the Patriots in big games is upset about Spygate.

"They cheated and they got caught," he said. "Why, if you have nothing to hide, would you destroy [the evidence]? That's how I've looked at it from the beginning. Why destroy something that doesn't have to be destroyed? Let everyone know what was on the tapes. Why would you destroy them so fast?"

The NFL confiscated tapes from a Patriots employee who recorded the New York Jets' defensive signals in a 2007 game. Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000. The team was fined $250,000 and forced to forfeit its 2008 first-round draft choice.

Porter told ESPN that Belichick's fine a "slap on the wrist didn't fit the crime."

"They went from zero to 60 overnight and [Belichick] went from a good coach to a great great coach and he got caught cheating," Porter said.

Matt Walsh, the former team employee, sent tapes to the league showing New England recording play-calling signals of five opponents in six games between 2000 and 2002. One of those games was the 2002 AFC Championship game that Porter and the Steelers lost to New England 24-17.

"If you're to tell me that happened, there's no way I can look at it and feel like I didn't get cheated," Porter said.

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