| NFL: Saints had a bounty system for injuring other team's players | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 3 2012, 01:17 AM (1,435 Views) | |
| Baldo | Mar 3 2012, 01:17 AM Post #1 |
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Saints looking at severe punishment for bounty system by Peter King - SI The National Football League on Friday found the New Orleans Saints guilty of a wide-ranging system of bounty payments to between 22 and 27 defensive players from 2009 through 2011, and player-safety-conscious commissioner Roger Goodell could bring the hammer down very hard on the franchise. The most alarming finding by the league, according to one club source who was briefed on the investigation late Friday afternoon, was this: Before the 2009 NFC Championship Game, Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered any defensive teammate $10,000 in cash to knock then-Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the game. Favre was hit viciously several times in the game. Favre told SI.com Friday evening: "I'm not pissed. It's football. I don't think anything less of those guys." The details of Vilma's offer were in a report to the 32 NFL owners, sent out by the league to detail further what the league's 50,000-page investigation found. Early indications late Friday afternoon were that the sanctions against the Saints and their former defensive coordinator who the league said administered the bounties, Gregg Williams, will be severe. The league said the penalties could include suspensions, fines and loss of draft choices -- the latter of which could be particularly damaging to the Saints, who do not own a first-round pick this year. Their first choice will be late in the second round, the 59th overall ... unless Goodell takes the pick away. Goodell is angry about this sustained use of paying players to hurt players on other teams. There's little doubt the penalties on the Saints will be worse than what the league did to the Patriots for the Spygate scandal in 2007. Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000 and the franchise fined $250,000 and docked a first-round draft choice for videotaping opponents' signals during games in violation of league rules. It would not be surprising, judging by the seriousness of the findings, that Williams, recently hired as the defensive coordinator of the Rams, would face a multi-game suspension. At 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Williams issued an apology: "I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, Mr. Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the 'pay for performance' program while I was with the Saints," Williams said. "It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again."...snipped http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/03/02/saints.bounties/index.html?section=si_latest |
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| Baldo | Mar 3 2012, 01:22 AM Post #2 |
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In bounty scandal, New Orleans Saints will pay a steep price Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune In the bounty scandal, the New Orleans Saints have the same problem Richard Nixon had with Watergate. It's not the crime, it's the cover-up. The Saints compounded an already serious violation of league rules by trying to ignore it, or worse, cover it up. They turned a violation into a scandal. Bounties have been a part of professional football almost since its inception. Locker room "pay-for-performance" pools exist throughout the league and players I spoke with Friday confirmed it. Did the Saints' system go too far? Undoubtedly. But to think the Saints and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are rogue vigilantes in this scheme is naïve. The Saints, though, were the ones who were caught and now they will pay a steep price for their actions. Their timing couldn't have been worse. The scandal occurred at the height of the league's crusade to improve player safety. Commissioner Roger Goodell will not treat lightly alleged attempts by the Saints to deliberately injure star players like quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brett Favre. This violates two of the league's most cherished covenants: player safety and competitive integrity. For this, expect the NFL to make an example out of the Saints. Goodell will hammer the Saints as hard as Bobby McCray hit Kurt Warner in the 2009 NFC playoffs. The sanctions are expected to be precedent-setting. When the league starts throwing around terms like "integrity of the game" and "institutional control" it is serious. Penance could include the loss of draft picks and fines for the organization along with fines and suspensions for the guilty players, coaches and executives....snipped http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/in_bounty_scandal_new_orleans.html |
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| Baldo | Mar 3 2012, 01:23 AM Post #3 |
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Full NFL statement into 'bounty' program run by New Orleans Saints http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/full_nfl_statement_into_bounty.html |
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| MikeZPU | Mar 3 2012, 01:50 AM Post #4 |
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I'm glad my kids chose swimming as their sport, rather than football. My son did play football in middle school. In one game, the opposing team had already built a 20 point lead with seconds left in the first half. My son caught a pass and ran out of bounds to conserve time. After he was well out of bounds, an opposing player slammed him to the ground. My friend in the announcer's booth said he could see my son's body become relaxed as he stepped out of bounds, so that he was totally unprepared to get slammed to the ground. My son got a pretty bad sprained shoulder. Yes, the ref threw a penalty flag for unnecessary roughness, but I felt the player should have been thrown out of the game. Like I said, I am glad my son and daughter ultimately chose swimming as their one and only sport. Edited by MikeZPU, Mar 3 2012, 02:03 AM.
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| cks | Mar 3 2012, 07:57 AM Post #5 |
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Swimming is a great sport! Man against the clock. All four of my children are swimmers - three still actively competing as adults. The real sport for life. |
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| Baldo | Mar 3 2012, 10:07 AM Post #6 |
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I love sports, and played many different ones. As I grew I loved contact sports the most, Football & Rugby were my favorites. I just want kids out there running, swimming, playing, and having a good time. Let them enjoy athletic competition. Of course at times it brings out aggressiveness, but that isn't bad unless it comes with malice and coaches guide their players to injure. There is no place in Sports for deliberately trying to injured anyone, except Boxing & Ultimate Fighter. That's why I am not a big fan of those two. I believe in the concept of sportsmanship and camaraderie. The world of Pro Football is violent, it's for Alpha Males with fearlessly conditioned bodies. But Sportsmanship still needs to be at its core and that is why they have refs. It was a pretty stupid move for the Saints. Gregg Willams & Sean Payton are going to pay big price for their actions. I think Goodell is going to lower the boom on them & the Saints. More than they think, and rightly so. Edited by Baldo, Mar 3 2012, 10:08 AM.
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| Baldo | Mar 6 2012, 02:07 PM Post #7 |
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Report: NFL commissioner ready to come down hard on bounties New Orleans Coach Sean Payton and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams are among those who face severe punishment, according to a Sports Illustrated report on the Saints bounty scandal. In this week's Sports Illustrated, NFL writer Peter King has a comprehensive story on the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal in which he says Commissioner Roger Goodell is furious about the revelations and prepared to take severe action. "This is a seminal moment in the culture change we have to make," a source close to Goodell told King, according to ProFootballTalk.com. "This has to stop now. Every team needs to hear the message that we’re in a different era now, where this appalling behavior is going to end." According to King's source, when Goodell first heard the allegations of the Saints paying bounties, the commissioner said, "God forbid this is true. This will be earth-shattering." King suggested that the commissioner is prepared to come down hardest on former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis and linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who allegedly offered a $10,000 incentive to knock Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC title game....snipped http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-report-goodell-primed-to-come-down-hard-on-bounties-20120306,0,6915827.story?track=rss |
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| Baldo | Mar 6 2012, 02:10 PM Post #8 |
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Peter King's SI article Way Out Of Bounds For three years, the NFL says, members of the Saints defense maintained an illicit bounty program, administered by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, that paid cash rewards for hits that injured opponents. Expect the league's punishment to be swift and severe ....In football circles, it is. The NFL charges that over the past three seasons, between 22 and 27 Saints participated in a bounty program administered by Williams and by leading players that paid defenders for specific achievements on the field, including injuring opponents. The program reportedly paid $1,500 for knocking a player out of a game and $1,000 for a "cart-off"-forcing a player to be helped off the field-as well as lesser rewards for individual plays. During the playoffs, the league said, the sums increased. Such bounties not only circumvent the NFL's salary cap, as extra off-the-books compensation, but also violate the NFL's constitution and by-laws and the collective bargaining agreement, all of which state, "No bonuses or awards may be offered or paid for on-field misconduct (for example, personal fouls to, or injuries inflicted on, opposing players)."...snipped http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1195695/1/index.htm Hard to believe they could be so stupid. Edited by Baldo, Mar 6 2012, 02:11 PM.
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| kbp | Mar 6 2012, 03:43 PM Post #9 |
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....but do their wives get coverage for free birth control? ...oops, OT, never mind. |
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| Baldo | Mar 21 2012, 12:03 PM Post #10 |
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Breaking News NFL comes down hard on Saints Head Coach Sean Payton suspended for one year Former Def Co-coordinator Williams suspended in-definitively from NFL Another Asst Def Coach suspended 6 games General Manager Loomis suspended 8 games, plus $500,000 fine Saints fined $500,000 Saints loss two 2nd draft picks in 2012 & 2013 Apparently NFL had evidence Sean Payton had issued orders once investigation had started to "get their ducks in a row" Edited by Baldo, Mar 21 2012, 12:08 PM.
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| Baldo | Mar 21 2012, 12:06 PM Post #11 |
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New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton suspended for 1 year 03/21/12 12:28PM The NFL has suspended New Orleans Saints Coach Sean Payton for a full year following an investigation into a bounty program the league said the Saints employed from 2009 to 2011, according to internet reports. Payton's suspension is supposed to begin on April 1. New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis was also hit with an 8-game suspension and fined $500,000. Former defensive coordiantor Gregg Williams, now with the Rams, has been suspended indefinitely. Assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt was hit with a 6-game suspension without pay as well. The team loses the second round pick in this year's draft as well as a second-round pick in next year's draft and will be fined $500,000....snipped http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/new_orleans_saints_are_penaliz.html |
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| Baldo | Mar 21 2012, 12:29 PM Post #12 |
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Reports are lying went on during the investigation. NFL calls it deceitful. Finally Williams & Vitt admitted they lied to NFL investigators. NFL Commissioner Goodell said no actions are going to be taken at this time on Saints' players, but will be taken up later. The NFL found no evidence the Bounty system was in place for any other teams |
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| Baldo | Mar 21 2012, 01:43 PM Post #13 |
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Don't blame the NFL Commissioner for today's punishment, it all belongs with the New Orleans Saints Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune Don't blame the NFL or commissioner Roger Goodell for the sanctions levied against the New Orleans Saints today. Blame Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, Gregg Williams and Joe Vitt. It was their actions - or lack thereof - that led to the unprecedented punishment meted out today. It was their lack of institutional control that resulted in the worst black eye the organization has ever experienced. Their cavalier attitudes and carelessness left the league with no recourse and has caused irreparable short- and long-term damage to the organization. Any hopes the Saints had of becoming the first NFL team to play in the Super Bowl on their home field in Super Bowl XLVII disintegrated with today's news. There's no way the team can survive the loss of head coach Sean Payton for a full season, general manager Mickey Loomis for half a season and linebackers coach Joe Vitt for six games. The Saints will win their share of games this coming season. There's still a lot of talent on the roster. But in a league where the competitive margin between teams is razor thin, today's news is fatal blow to their title hopes....snipped http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/03/duncan_take_on_bountygate.html |
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| Deleted User | Mar 21 2012, 03:44 PM Post #14 |
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Deleted User
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If this was going on 3 years ago, they should have their super bowl title revoked. |
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| Baldo | Mar 21 2012, 04:11 PM Post #15 |
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I don't think there is any mechanism in place for that to happen. Think about the ramifications of overturning one of the largest watched sporting events. While some sports have mechanisms in place, ie. horse racing, car racing, Olympics. Most disqualifications happen immediately, except in the Olympics drugs tests can overturn a medal and in some cases medals have been taken away years later. The question is did those actions give an unfair advantage and cause others to lose. IMHO The Saints beat the Colts legitimately. |
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