The Pittsburgh Steelers say they didn't lose games due to the New England Patriots' taping of coaches' signals. For many Steelers fans that provides a sense of relief; for others, a measure of doubt persists.

That's because two of the four Pittsburgh-New England games that Steelers coaches' signals were taped — some people prefer the word "stolen" — were American Football Conference championship games, both of which the Steelers lost.

Pittsburgh lost one of the two regular season games at which similar taping allegedly occurred.

"We consider the tapes of our coaching staff during our games against the New England Patriots to be a non-issue," Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said last Friday.

But for professional sports to retain the public's strong support, sports must not be tarnished by cheating and other problems, such as illegal gambling, as well as the performance-enhancing drug scandal dogging Major League Baseball.

Officials of the various sports should come down hard on those whose actions tarnish their sport, and National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell apparently felt he was doing just that when he levied penalties on Patriots coach Bill Belichick and the team after the taping scandal was revealed after the past season's first Patriots-New York Jets game.

Unfortunately, only a yearlong suspension of Belichick, combined with the penalties the league did hand down — a $500,000 fine on Belichick, a $250,000 fine on the team and loss of a first-round draft pick this year — would have ridded what is being called "Spygate" of speculation that the league was soft in its punishment.

Thanks to U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, more about "Spygate" is coming to light.

It's commendable that Specter has continued to pursue the issue in the aftermath of the Super Bowl and uncover additional facts — many of which are troubling — rather than opening himself up to criticism that the questions he put forth just prior to New England's championship encounter with the New York Giants were in any way meant to be a publicity seeking Super Bowl Week distraction.

There is much yet to be discussed — and revealed — about "Spygate," especially the league's motivation behind the destruction of evidence before a full probe into New England's illegal taping was carried out.

"The taping (in the Jets game) occurred on Sept. 9, he (Goodell) imposed the fine on the 13th, didn't get the material until the 17th and destroyed it on the 20th," Specter told a Pittsburgh newspaper.

Goodell had ordered the Patriots to turn over any evidence the team had of such taping, including notes. Those notes disclosed the taping of games involving the Steelers, and Specter suspects that the scandal might have encompassed the Philadelphia Eagles' unsuccessful Super Bowl appearance against the Patriots following the 2004 season.

"Spygate," Specter has learned, has been going on since the year 2000, although Specter said he has been told that the practice of Belichick's staff illegally taping opposing coaches extends to his days in the 1990s when he led the old Cleveland Browns.

Specter said he was told the league never looked into that.

"When you have a pattern, you look for when the pattern started," Specter said.

Perhaps new Steelers coach Mike Tomlin best summed up the situation when he first heard about the incident involving the Jets. Speaking at a press conference, Tomlin said, "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

In regard to the destruction of the tapes, the senator said Goodell "gave an answer that made no sense, saying they destroyed them so no one could gain a competitive advantage."

Specter is right about the answer making no sense.

Specter said Goodell should not have meted out punishment until he learned the full extent of the scandal. Specter also is right in believing that the league was wrong for failing to disclose the extent of "Spygate" when it became clear that it was not an isolated incident.

According to Specter, Goodell has said he plans no more investigation into "Spygate." The senator has characterized that as a "fair-sized stone wall (being) erected."

Specter said he might hold hearings on the taping issue; the viewpoint of right-thinking football fans — even those in New England — ought to be that he should. And, Belichick should be among those called to testify.

Integrity should be at the center of all sports, with professional sports leading the way. Unfortunately, Belichick's actions don't fall in line with that sought-after principle.