The NFL tried to close the door on Spygate yesterday but Arlen Specter’s foot has gotten in the way and guaranteed it will go on. At a press conference in Washington, the Pennsylvania Senator said that “after a lot of consideration, it’s my judgment that there ought to be an impartial investigation, an outside investigation” into the entire affair.
He cited the Mitchell Report as a guideline for what kind of investigation he’d like to see take place and said he was particularly upset to learn that an attorney for the Patriots was present during the questioning of Matt Walsh. Specter believes it “strains credulity to say that sort of practice is objective or impartial.” He also said that Roger Goodell appears to be caught in a “conflict of interest.”
He said he would give the league several months to begin their own outside investigation before Congress would take action and isn’t going to be sending out investigators.
Specter’s interest was first piqued when the Patriots played the Eagles in November and he learned that the NFL had destroyed the tapes seized during the Jets game that touched this whole thing off. He described himself as “incensed” about the destruction of materials but stopped short of saying a cover-up had taken place.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
ZzzzzZ! Wake me up when this is over. This hole episode is so boring. The man really needs to get his nose out of the NFLs business. All that I ask is if they investigate, then make sure it includes all of the teams. The Mitchell Report was designed to rid the game of PEDs. This investigation should focus on every NFL team then.
Honestly old man get a clue you have more important things you should be doing.
Is Arlen Specter and Ralph Wilson twins?
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I wish Arlen Spector was this concenred as to why I am paying $3.75 for a gallon of gas, and all of our manufacturing jobs have gone to China.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Arlen Spector has lost his faculties. Its a sad sight.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
“…after a lot of consideration…”
Translation: After shaking down Comcast for more campaign contributions.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
What an idiot. This is a simple case of a senator grandstanding for attention from the public. What a waste of tax payers money.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Doesn’t this guy have anything better to do? Apparently cheating in the NFL is the biggest issue for Senator nowadays……
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
As much as I think Arlen Specter is a boob’s boob, this is not his creation.
The Patriots created this mess by cheating and Roger Goodell further exacerbated the situation by destroying the tapes in lieu of transparency.
Roger Goodell had the opportunity to squash this back when the Patriots turned their tapes over, instead he chooses to destroy evidence and create an air of conspiracy. Now, he must deal with the consequences of “his” actions.
In my opinion, Roger Goodell was on a path to being a great commissioner with his handling of NFL personnel Conduct, but he certainly derailed himself with Spygate.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
What a shock, the “honorable” Arlen Sphincter, who admitted he is doing this because he is a Steelers fan, wants an investigation…while contradicting some of his own previous statements. Residents of Pennsylvania should be embarrassed/
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Man I hate Arlen Specter. Doesn’t he have bigger problems to worry about than sports. I hate the patriots, but this stupid spygate crap is over. Let it go and accomplish something that is actually needed douche.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Ok, this really pisses me off. I hate the Patriots with a passion, but I just listened to some of Specter’s comments and I just don’t understand how he stays in office. Part of his comments included the fact that Goodell said the amount that can be gained from videotaping is minimal. Specter, the football expert that he is, disagrees. His ‘proof’ is that in ‘03 or ‘04 or ‘05 the Pats played Pittsburgh and lost during the season. Then they played again in the playoffs and the Pats won handily. He insinuates that is proof that the Pats used the tape from the first game to dissect the calls which made them win in the 2nd game. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT. First off, it’s football. Why isn’t he calling for an investigation into the Giants, surely they must have taped signals of the Pats because after they lost during the season they beat the Pats in the postseason. IT’S PROOF OF NOTHING, EXCEPT THAT ANY TEAM CAN WIN ANY DAY. Secondly, EVERY team uses legal methods to get the signals. Every team sends an advance scout to their next opponent and they can legally write down the signals, just not use videotape. So the video saved their advance scout some writing. Thirdly, he calls for an investigation ‘like the one that Mitchell did with baseball’. Earth to Specter…. baseball players were BREAKING THE LAW.
Someone please get this guy out of office.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Doesn’t this loser have bigger problems to worry about than sports. I hate the patriots and I wanted them to be punished more, but it was proven that they didn’t do any more cheating that was already known about. Let it go.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Who is the Fallguy here? Goodell, BB the Patriots? A cover up? What exactly is his issue? I can’t tell! He spends most of his time critizing the Commissioner… Inferring there was an effort by the league, owners and players to cover this up? Then he qoutes Schlereth, who was making false statements about how the tape was used? How can any one on the Pats break down the tape when it was still in the camera? This guy was in charge of the Warrem commision! The ranking member of the Oversight committee! Elected by 12 mil. Pennsylvanians, who obviously have to be greatly embarresed today!
Hey Arlen, how about a little help with the price of gas, the malaize in the economy and all he has time for is spent investiating the Patriots and the NFL. Maybe it’s time to impeach this nutjob! He’s either sick or oblivious to the reality of what he’s saying! Go ahead Arlen, do your best to ruin the most sucessful sports offerring the Nation currently has! You just jumped the shark Senator! Do your job! Goodell isn’t trying to cover anything up!
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Arlen Specter is an idiot. This story should have been dead a long time ago. Why do people insist on beating a dead horse? This is getting ridiculous now. And before anyone says anything, no, I’m not a Patriots fan. I’m a football fan and this story needs to be put away so we can move on.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Does he really need to spend oodles of public money to investigate a dead issue only to come to the conclusion that nearly everybody is doing it?
This guy is a grandstanding idiot, bent more on seeing his name in the paper and causing trouble for the NFL and making his private campaign contributors/investors happy. Specter should be removed from office. I’m sure there are more pressing issues in Pennsylvania.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
this news conference brought to you by Comcast
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
my God….this man really needs something else to do.
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Specter can have his own outside investigation so long as we get an investigation of *his* ties to Comcast.
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Rating: 4.3 / 5 with 16 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Im an avid eagles fan, but, this guy is getting a litte borning now. He obviously has a second agenda that he wants to keep this whole thing going. When you watch him talk about it, it seems like he’s an alzhymers patient trying to remember what he was mad about. It’s cool though, that’s what we get in PA.
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Rating: 4.15 / 5 with 14 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
This makes no sense to me. Why does Specter think the government needs to be involved in this issue?
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Rating: 3.95 / 5 with 12 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
When did they replace Specter with my senile Grampa Joe? All I have to say, we don’t even let Grampa Joe go to the bathroom by himself anymore.
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Rating: 3.25 / 5 with 14 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Specter may be wasting tax dollars on this, but he’s got a darn good point.
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Rating: 2.05 / 5 with 22 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
As a Patriots fan, this is great news. I would like to expose the past and current “gamesmanship” of all the teams in the NFL. That way, other organizations can start taking some bullets like we have been. Go for it!
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
what a waste of time by our government. its not like this about to turn into an Enron scandal. its football! give it a rest already
the mitchell report is entirely different being that the purpose is to get illicit drug use out of the game, with the theory being that kids will start shooting up. kids aren’t about to go taping people illegally because a bunch of fat white guys do it
spygate = Lame
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Rating: 4.1 / 5 with 15 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Arlen PLEASE shut the F up. He’s incensed over this? I’d be incensed over our soldiers dying in a desert, the economy bleeding the life out of the middle class, or you know….virtually anything from real life. But if you want to try and grand stand to win votes via being a a–wipe over something that your team probably does too….well than have at it.
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Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 17 rating(s)
May 14th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
BTW, way to call out Goodell for not asking Matt Walsh about the Patriots taping practices during years after he got fired. Arlen, why would Goodell ask Walsh about the Patriots in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, or 2007 when he was not even on the team.
Also Arlen, why is Walsh a credible witness for everything damning about the Patriots and then choose a guy on ESPN who you didn’t even remember his name (it was Mark Schlereth btw) when Walsh said the Pats never viewed the tapes until after the game.
Good thing for Specter, there isn’t a mental competitency exam for Senators over a certain age.
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Rating: 3.9 / 5 with 14 rating(s)