Hold on, NFL. Spygate isn't over. Not if the "incensed" Pittsburgh Steelers fan in Congress has anything to do with it.
Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday called for an independent investigation of the New England Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals, possibly similar to the high-profile Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball.
"What is necessary is an objective investigation," Specter said at a news conference in the Capitol. "And this one has not been objective."
The Pennsylvania Republican was unforgiving of his criticism of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that Goodell has made "ridiculous" assertions that wouldn't fly "in kindergarten." The Senator said Goodell was caught in an "apparent conflict of interest" because the NFL doesn't want the public to lose confidence in the league's integrity.
"They are enormous role models for everybody," Specter said. "If you can cheat in the NFL, you can cheat in college, you can cheat in high school, you can cheat on your grade-school math test. There's no limit as to what you can do. I think they owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility."
Goodell essentially declared an end to Spygate after a 3<+>1<+>/<->2<->-hour meeting in New York on Tuesday morning with former New England video assistant Matt Walsh. Walsh supplied the league with videotapes of coaches' signals made by the Patriots, but offered no new significant revelations about the cheating scandal that has threatened to taint the team's three Super Bowl titles.
Goodell said afterward that the information from the interview with Walsh "was consistent with what we disciplined the Patriots for last fall," when the commissioner docked the team a 2008 first-round draft pick and fined coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000.
But Specter held his own three-hour meeting with Walsh in Washington on Tuesday. He said Walsh detailed how the Patriots used videotaped signals to their advantage: an offensive player would memorize the signals, watch for them on the sideline and pass them on to assistant coach Charlie Weis, who would then inform quarterback Tom Brady.
"And they had some obviously good results," Specter said.
Specter said he would prefer the NFL arrange the independent investigation and was willing to wait several months - while he continues to undergo chemotherapy treatments for Hodgkin's disease - before calling for Congress to take what he called "corrective action." Such action could include hearings or a full-blown Mitchell Report-type investigation. He said public reaction would determine the NFL's next step.
"I would hope that the commissioner would do this on his own," Specter said.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no comment on Specter's remarks.
Specter repeated his disapproval of Goodell's decision to destroy the notes and tapes confiscated during the initial investigation last fall, as well as the "piecemeal" way the league has revealed details about the tapings. He also cited the fact a Patriots attorney sat in on Walsh's meeting with Goodell as proof the investigation has not been impartial.
"That sequence is incomprehensible," Specter said. "It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it."
Kraft happy with Herald apology
Patriots owner Robert Kraft felt vindicated by the Boston Herald's apology after a season - and offseason - of reports the NFL's most successful franchise of the decade had spied on opponents.
The newspaper first reported on Feb. 2 the existence of a tape of the Rams 2002 Super Bowl walkthrough, and said it had made a mistake and apologized in headlines on the front and back pages and in a brief story.
"I think I speak for all Patriot fans," Kraft said. "We're relieved that this is over and you see that this is nonsense and we were unfairly accused and we're moving on. From our point of view, it's the end."
For Kraft, his happy day began before 7 a.m. when he saw the front-page headline that could have been a pleasant accompaniment to a nice breakfast.
"I try not to eat a nice breakfast," said Kraft, who works out at the Gillette Stadium weight room. "I have coffee and a bran muffin."
The apology, he said in a telephone interview, "was sort of a vindication of what's gone on since September."
The Herald story about the alleged taping of the walkthrough was published the day before the Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants 17-14, ending New England's bid for a 19-0 season. The Patriots had won the 2002 Super Bowl against the Rams 20-17, their first of three championships.
Kraft said he didn't think the report and NFL investigation would leave a lasting stain on his team's reputation. He did express concern how the public far from New England might perceive the Patriots, especially after the most-watched Super Bowl in history.
"All the people watching hear this allegation," he said. "So people in South Dakota or Idaho who we don't reach a lot, (we) had our brand damaged."
But might the team receive some sympathy now that the Herald said it was wrong and the NFL investigation found no walkthrough tape?
"Our fans, I think, they will be in our corner," Kraft said., "For people who we either beat their teams or have some ax to grind, I don't know. They may not like us but they respect what we're about as an organization and how we handle adversity."
He was "very disappointed" the newspaper published the story, but "I must compliment the Boston Herald for doing what is unprecedented in terms of recognizing their error in a major way. I'm really delighted with that, but I wish it never happened."
