WASHINGTON — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told Sen. Arlen Specter face-to-face that he doesn’t regret destroying the Spygate tapes.
“I think it was the right thing to do,” Goodell said Wednesday after meeting for more than an hour with Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary committee. Goodell noted that “we were the ones that disclosed” the New England Patriots’ illegal taping of the New York Jets’ defensive signals.
“I have nothing to hide,” Goodell said.
Specter, R-Pa., requested the meeting so Goodell could explain his decision to destroy the tapes and notes from the case, which go back to 2002. Patriots coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.
Goodell said Belichick, New England’s coach since 2000, told him that he believed the taping was legal, implying that he’s been doing it since he has been the head coach. Goodell said he did not concur.
“He said that’s always been his interpretation since he’s been the head coach,” the commissioner said. “We are going to agree to disagree on the facts.”
Specter has questioned the quality of the NFL’s investigation into the matter and has raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn’t satisfied with Goodell’s answers.
• Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn denied that he was involved in an altercation on New Year’s Day in which a man claimed on an emergency phone call that Quinn made a slur at him outside a Columbus, Ohio, restaurant.
“At no time that night was I involved in a verbal or physical altercation, nor did I have any interaction with the police,” Quinn said in a statement.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed free-agent fullback Greg Jones. Terms of the contract weren’t disclosed.
• Justin Fargas is staying with the Oakland Raiders. The running back signed a new deal, the terms of which weren’t disclosed.
