In an interview with NFL Network's Rich Eisen, Goodell said that the threat to player safety, as well as the fact the Saints lied about it, demanded significant punishment. General manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games of the 2012 season. Players usually earned $1,000 for cart-offs and $1,500 for knockouts during the regular season, though they were encouraged to put their winnings back into the pot in order to raise the stakes as the season went on. The Saints appealed the suspensions of Payton, Loomis and Vitt, but the NFL upheld the suspensions. The players said that Williams paid his crew thousands of dollars for aggressive play, with the biggest payoutsas much as $8,000coming for "kill shots" that knocked opposing players out of games. Tuesday, 29 January 2013 By Griffin Finan. Within two years he was back to form and named MVP of the Finals, but a serious foot injury during the playoffs in 1978 ended his season. 2:34 pm ET, would vacate the suspensions of those Saints' players on appeal, Agent's Take: Rodgers' trade value, logistics, best fit, McCarthy discusses taking over Cowboys' play-calling, Brett Favre welfare funds scandal explained, Reich says Carr 'checks a lot of boxes' after meeting, Gregg Williams on Bountygate: It was 'nothing that hadn't been done before', Mock: Carter falls amid warrant, Ravens take QB, Rodgers' trade value, logistics and best fit, Best team fits for top FAs at each position, Ex-NFL GM on ramifications of Carter's legal issue, NFLPA issues team report cards: Commanders fail, 49ers GM says he contacted Brady as team seeks QB help, Jalen Carter issues statement amid charges. (Scott Boehm/Getty Images) Actions like this are what makes Goodell sick. To test whether the Saints injured more players than a typical team, one need only compare the number of players added to injury reports after a Saints game to the league-wide average. No penalty was called on the play, though NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said one should have been called, saying it was "the type of hit we don't want." He recalled that Goodell was always upset when officials didn't penalize hits on defenseless players. While the findings may be troubling, we look forward to putting this behind us and winning more championships in the future for our fans. [56][57] However, the Saints were not penalized for illegal hits during that game, which they lost 3632. A college softball team showcased the ultimate act of sportsmanship on Saturday by helping an opponent who just hit a home run around the bases. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/reg/free/stories, at The league, in a written release, cited the players for their leadership roles in the bounty program, which paid players over the past three seaons for hits that injured opponents. [15] Cerullo was released after the 2009 postseason for poor performance and lying about personal leave according to the New Orleans Saints. [53] On March 12, WWL-TV in New Orleans reported that Payton and Benson met with Goodell in New York for much of the morning to reiterate that the Saints would continue to cooperate fully with the NFL's investigation. Several other stars, including quarterback Kurt Warner, were on the Saints' radar during a 'Bountygate' scandal between 2009-2011. [51] However, several former players interviewed by Sports Illustrated said that while payments for good hits and sacks were indeed considered part of the game, bounties for intentionally injuring opponents violated an unwritten code. 2023 Cable News Network. 2. 2004-07: Washington Redskins - Defensive Coordinator While most will remember Sean Payton for his success with the Saints, his involvement with Bountygate won't be forgotten anytime soon either. Get breaking NFL Football News, our in-depth expert analysis, latest rumors and follow your favorite sports, leagues and teams with our live updates. He also claimed that NFL Network yanked its planned replay of the 2009 NFC Championship Game due to concern that fans might look more closely for late hits that should have been called. However, they did not do so. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. I have offered and the NFL has received our full cooperation in their investigation. NEW: The NFL Players Association challenges the suspensions, Two of the suspended players are now with different teams, The suspensions are the latest by the NFL in the scandal over bounties, The league previously suspended a coach and a former defensive coordinator. [48], CBSSports.com's Pat Kirwan tweeted that within hours of the NFL releasing its report, lawyers for several players were already telling him that their clients were considering legal action against the Saints and Williams. Bountygate was alleged to have taken place from 2009 to 2011. "[41], Former NFL coach Tony Dungy later told Profootballtalk.com he was certain that Williams operated a similar bounty system while he was defensive coordinator of the Oilers/Titans from 1997 to 2000. The only difference in Seifert's mind was that he no longer believed the Saints were out of control. All was forgiven and he was back in the league the next year. )[86] Seau's sentiments were echoed by Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton. The program involved as many as 27 players and at least one assistant coach, the league concluded after an investigation. Coy Wire, a safety during Williams' tenure, said that Williams gave bonuses for hits that left opponents seriously injured, and two other players said that bonuses were also awarded for "knockouts." Smith, a captain of the defensive unit, helped Williams with the program and pledged money for it, according to the statement. We can joke about the recruiting-Ohtani part of Suzuki not being on Team Japan anymore, but in all seriousness, I just thought it was gonna be cool to watch Seiya playing on such a loaded team. The Rams were driving inside. We have spoken with our players and their representatives and we will vigorously protect and pursue all options on their behalf.. However, Woodson felt that several parts of Williams' speechparticularly his calls to go after Crabtree's ACL and target Williams specifically because he had concussions in the pastwent too far. Sullivan called the Saints' treatment of Favre "despicable" and "the exact opposite of sportsmanship," and even called for the league to take some sort of action against players involved in that game who had since retired, such as McCray.[71]. "Bountygate" came up again this week because Beckham claimed Williams told defenders to take him "out of the game" in a 2017 preseason contest. It also asserted that head coach Sean Payton tried to cover up the scheme, and that he and general manager Mickey Loomis failed to shut it down when ordered to do so by team owner Tom Benson. However, of all coaches to have serious scandals tarnish their . [16] Cerullo testified that he kept track of payments and pledges made. [37] Ruben Brown, a guard for the Bills during Williams's time as coach there, denied there was any sort of bounty system in place in Buffalo,[38] a position reiterated by linebacker London Fletcher and then-general manager Tom Donahoe. Later in the game, offensive tackle Frank Omiyale yanked a Saints defender off Cutler when he saw what he later called "some dirty stuff. Players could also be fined for mental mistakes and penalties. In the "Bountygate" scandal, the NFL suspended several Saintsincluding head coach Sean Payton and defensive captain Jonathan Vilmafor involvement in a system, allegedly run by defensive. [7] Every year, the NFL sends a memo reiterating this ban to every team before training camp opens. However, depending on the Saints' cooperation and that of the individuals involved, Goodell could restore the Saints' second-round pick in 2013 (though the Saints would still lose a lower-round pick), as well as reduce the fine on the Saints and restore Payton, Vitt and Loomis' lost pay. [26] The NFL found no club money had been used to fund the bounty pool, and praised Benson for doing what he could to shut down the slush fund. Rather, he wrote, they were acting as "part of a larger mentality" instilled by Williams. This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 09:07. The league has had a poor track record in recent appeals hearings. "After a grand slam by Moses and injury, SEU . [66], Hours after the sanctions were announced, Kluwe went on KSTP in the Twin Cities and demanded that any players involved in the scheme be severely punished, and that the NFLPA let it be known that "there's no place in the league for that kind of behavior." 2001-03:Buffalo Bills - Head Coach Two of those players were reportedly Kurt Warner and Brett Favre. [7] Williams and the players pooled their own money to pay out performance bonuses. [7] League officials, convinced that this information was irrefutable evidence a program was indeed in place, alerted Benson of their findings just before the Saints' first-round playoff game against the Detroit Lions. Ornstein contributed $10,000 to the pot in 2009, and an undisclosed amount in 2011. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: stories | In the wake of the NFL BountyGate investigation involving the Saints, Rex Ryan denied that he has ever used bounties during his career. The players were vindicated, but from a league or coaching standpoint, there's no union, there's no representation. Your login session has expired. section: | slug: gregg-williams-on-bountygate-it-was-nothing-that-hadnt-been-done-before | sport: football | route: article_single.us | The whole organization was fined $500,000, and they lost several draft picks. In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Tarkenton wrote that he played against the likes of Mean Joe Greene, Ray Nitschke and Dick Butkus, and none of them even considered deliberately trying to hurt him. Allen's decision to return to school for his senior season was a stroke of genius given his ridiculous production in 2018: 17 sacks, 21 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles. [77] Two days after the fifth game of the season, on October 9, 2012, the league re-issued the suspensions without any changes or reductions; the players' appeals continued. [70] His sentiments were echoed a day later by Vikings center John Sullivan, who told KFXN-FM in the Twin Cities that any Saint who deliberately tried to hurt Favre in that game should get a lifetime ban. The league announced that Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma were suspended without pay for varying lengths of time. The NFLPA which has. Four past or present New Orleans Saints players were suspended Wednesday by the National Football League for their roles in the bountygate scandal involving bonuses for trying to hurt opponents. "I don't think you can be too hard on people that put at risk our players' health and safety," Goodell told Eisen. Photo Credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images Who is Sean Payton? EN. In 2012, ESPN reported that former New Orleans Saints defensive assistant Mike Cerullo contacted the NFL regarding a bounty program after the 2009 postseason. "[30][31], However, on July 26, 2012, Vilma and seven witnesses from the Saints testified in front of a federal judge in New Orleans that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell got his facts wrong in the bounty scandal. After finishing 133 and reaching the Divisional round of the playoffs a year earlier, they finished 79 and missed the playoffs. For many players on that post-Bountygate team, that meant reminiscing about past successes (tight end David Thomas, for one . [18] The investigation continued during the 201112 playoffs and continued through the 2012 offseason. [67] Payton, Vitt and Loomis met with Goodell on April 5. The NFL began investigating the Saints in 2010 in response to allegations of deliberate attempts to injure players during the 200910 playoffs, but the investigation stalled until late in the 2011 season. "This is something that is being handled by the NFL office . No more bias or b.s. [58], On March 21, 2012, the NFL issued sanctions to Saints coaches and front-office personnel for their roles in the scandal. [76], On July 26, 2012, Jonathan Vilma and seven witnesses from the Saints testified in front of a federal judge in New Orleans that Goodell got his facts wrong in the bounty scandal. He even went as far as to call for Vilmathe only player specifically named as being involved in the scheme in the NFL's initial announcementsto be banned from the league for life. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season, DL Anthony Hargrove was suspended for eight games, Will Smith for four and Scott Fujita for three. On March 30, Payton, Vitt and Loomis appealed their suspensions, and the Saints also appealed the fine and loss of draft picks. The Saints appear to have injured far fewer players over the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons. Vilma played the final 11 games of the 2012 season for the Saints; Smith played all 16. Injuries caused him to miss a number of games in that first season, including the playoffs. NFLPA files suit in Bountygate case July 5, 2012 foxsports The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit against the NFL on behalf of three players suspended in connection with the bounty. [13], In the 2010 offseason, an anonymous player told NFL officials that the Saints had targeted Favre and Warner as part of a bounty program administered by Williams; the NFL's security department found the allegations credible enough to open an investigation. 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