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As predictable as the NFL's desire to put this "Spygate" saga to rest has been, so, too, was Sen. Arlen Specter's reaction yesterday to the league's assessment of Tuesday's meeting between Matt Walsh and league commissioner Roger Goodell.
One day after Goodell said, after a three-plus-hour meeting with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh, that the issue is a closed case, Specter, who met with Walsh later in the day Tuesday, refused to let the issue go away.
Yesterday, in a press conference in Washington, Specter said he wants an independent investigation of the Patriots' taping of opposing coaches' signals similar to the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball.
"I would hope that the commissioner would do this on his own," Specter said.
The NFL issued a response through spokesman Greg Aiello.
"We respectfully disagree with Senator Specter's characterization of the investigation conducted by our office," Aiello said. "We are following up after [Tuesday's] meeting with Matt Walsh."
Specter, as he's done several times, criticized the NFL's handling of the initial investigation following Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's conviction by the league of illegal taping.
"I have documented the strong factual case that the NFL investigation was neither objective or adequate," Specter told ESPN.com yesterday. "If the commissioner doesn't move for an independent investigation, then it is a permanent black mark on the NFL, and the Patriots' record will be historically tainted. Depending on the public reaction, I may ask the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the NFL's antitrust exemption."
Specter 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.
Specter said Walsh discussed the Patriots' use of opponents' signals caught on videotape. Offensive players would watch for signals, memorize them, pass the calls to assistant coach Charlie Weis, who then would relay the information to quarterback Tom Brady, Specter said after talking with Walsh.
The NFL is still investigating the issue, saying it's going to interview former Patriots assistant and current Jets quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll.
In an interview with HBO scheduled to air tomorrow night on "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," Walsh dismissed Belichick's attempts to minimize the taping. Walsh said his superiors coached him on how to evade NFL rules limiting the number of camera operators per team to two, and that team officials instructed him on ways to avoid detection.
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