View topic - Arlen betrays us. Won't call for hearings into spygate.

[thesteelhammer Profile]

What the hell! It was just two weeks ago they guy was saying if the NFL didn't do something, congress would. Disgraceful. Maybe the Pats have tapes of him.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3448051

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Arlen Specter said he won't call for congressional hearings on the NFL's investigation of the Spygate scandal after previously threatening to do so.


Specter's office confirmed Tuesday his comments a day earlier to the Philadelphia Daily News editorial board, in which he said "I've gone as far as I can" with his office's investigation of the matter. Specter, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, had written in a Senate floor statement earlier this month that "I believe the NFL should step forward and embrace an independent inquiry."

"If the NFL continues to leave a vacuum," he added, "Congress may be tempted to fill it."

Specter's decision not to pursue hearings came nearly two weeks after he entered a statement into the Congressional Record calling on the NFL to conduct an independent review of the scandal, in the same way that baseball enlisted former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate the use of performance-enhancing drugs.


"The commissioner's investigation has been fatally flawed," said Specter's statement, entered into the record on June 5. "The lack of candor, the piecemeal disclosures, the changes in position on material matters, the failure to be proactive in seeking out other key witnesses, and responding only when unavoidable evidence is thrust upon the NFL leads to the judgment that an impartial investigation is mandatory."


No independent inquiry has been announced; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has indicated that he considers the investigation closed. But Specter said no hearings were forthcoming.

"I haven't pulled back. There's not much more I can do at this point," the senator said Monday, according to his office. "We've exposed a lot. ... But the public attention span is so limited. I'm not going to call for hearings because the mood is not right and we've got too many other bigger problems to deal with."

Specter did raise the issue of whether the NFL and other leagues, the beneficiaries of antitrust exemptions, should receive public funding for building stadiums. And he told the editorial board that he wasn't interested in former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's claims that playoff games were rigged.

[steelerette Profile]

It's my understanding that Spector is no longer pursuing Spygate because he didn't have any support from Congress. I believe he is keeping the door open, however, if any further evidence comes forward in the future.

What's done is done. Goodell handled Spygate horribly, but I do think that the Patriots organization will be treated like the scum that they are for a long time to come by NFL fans.

[thesteelhammer Profile]

Maybe, but a U.S. Senator should be able to back up his threats.

[steelerette Profile]

I totally agree with you steelhammer, but Walsh didn't come through the way they thought he would, and I don't think there's any further evidence to be taken into account. What made me mad was that even the Rooneys wanted it all put to rest. I wish there would have been more of an outcry from the owners. Just pisses me off.

[thesteelhammer Profile]

Yeah the Rooney's did want it all put to bed. We all know NFL ownership is an old boys club. And like any club, I'm sure they wanted to handle their business in-house, without the glare of the media or public looking on. I'd like to think Dan Rooney has some behind the scenes pull to make sure that there is a consequence for Kraft.

Spector should either be smart enough not to make threats without all his ducks in a row or powerful enough to not care who is with him and who isn't, before he goes shooting his mouth off.

I really think congress should have better things to do than look into any sports issue, but If a Senator says he is going to do something, I expect it to be true. It's a credibility thing.

[steelerette Profile]

Yeah the Rooney's did want it all put to bed. We all know NFL ownership is an old boys club. And like any club, I'm sure they wanted to handle their business in-house, without the glare of the media or public looking on. I'd like to think Dan Rooney has some behind the scenes pull to make sure that there is a consequence for Kraft.

I think you hit the nail on the head there, steelhammer. The Rooney's don't like to air their business in public. We know that the Rooney's have a lot of pull, so let's hope there is some type of consequence for Kraft. That is something we may never know, though, but I am quite anxious to see how this coming year plays out as far as the Patriots are concerned. I don't think they will get the breaks they have received in the past, and I'm hoping they won't be the media darlings that they have been in the past. It disgusted me the way the media was all over the Patriots' jocks last year and their possible 19-0* season, even after Spygate was exposed. It was sickening.

[smithessmokin Profile]

did you guys honestly expect something to happen? spygate has been over for months. get over it.