The Big Lead: NFL Re-Issues Exact Same Bounty Suspensions

[MattFancy]

http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/...e-suspensions/

Roger Goodell doesn’t care about courts, judges or appeals. He is here to tell everyone what is what. In May, he suspended Jonathan Vilma for an entire season, Scott Fujita for three games, Will Smith for four games, and Anthony Hargrove for eight games. In September an appeals panel overturned the suspensions. Today, Goodell announced the new suspensions of all four players. From Pro Football Talk:

This means that Vilma will be suspended a full season, Fujita will be suspended three games, Smith will be suspended four games, and Hargrove will be suspended eight games.

So what now?

All four players have the right to appeal the ruling to Commissioner Roger Goodell. Given that the players chose this time around to meet with Goodell before he issued the suspensions, the players may be more inclined to participate in the appeal process this time around.

An appeal process. How novel. What then?

Then, after the appeal process has been completed, the players likely will take the league back to court — barring a dramatic reduction or reversal of the punishments by Goodell.

This outta work out well for Goodell

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Everyone misunderstood the ruling when the suspensions were overturned. It was about process. The court basically said that Goodell could suspend them but he had to do it in a certain way, which he did not do.

[zoony]

Hahaha what a cluster. This is great, can't wait until Vilma's lawyer holds a press conference

[Duckus]

Is there anything better than the Super Bowl being in NO this year?

[Destino]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/84...an-vilma-smith

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reduced the bounty-related suspensions of two New Orleans Saints players while upholding the punishments of two others, a source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

Linebacker Scott Fujita's three-game suspension has been reduced to one while defensive end Anthony Hargrove's eight-game penalty has been trimmed to seven games, the source said.

The suspensions of linebacker Jonathan Vilma and defensive end Will Smith will remain the same, the source added.

Vilma is on the Saints physically unable to perform list and will not be eligible to play this year but can keep the money he has been paid for six weeks on the PUP list, a source told ESPN's Ed Werder.

I hope he found the evidence this time around.

[Zazzaro703]

The arrogance of the NFL and its leaders need to go in front of the government. Enough is enough.

[FanboyOf91]

So Vilma's lawsuit is still on?

[HeluCopter29]

The arrogance of the NFL and its leaders need to go in front of the government. Enough is enough.

My understanding is that Goodell met with more players and Vilma himself this time. I'm thinking he might actually have some hard evidence.

Honestly though, the fact that he Vilma refused to meet with the commissioner and then bitched about getting a season long suspension was more arrogant on his part then this is as far as I'm concerned.

[Zazzaro703]

My understanding is that Goodell met with more players and Vilma himself this time. I'm thinking he might actually have some hard evidence.

Honestly though, the fact that he Vilma refused to meet with the commissioner and then bitched about getting a season long suspension was more arrogant on his part then this is as far as I'm concerned.

Im just sore about the -36million in cap space. The missing money shows on the field already.

[Redskin4ever]

I've always thought they had some testimony from a current player. Obviously they want to keep that person a secret because of the backlash they would face, sort of like witness protection. I could be dead wrong on that, but the certainty of the NFL throughout this always made me think they had an "ace in the hole". And I don't mean Gregg Williams affidavit. They had his testimony all along.

[SkinsFTW]

Well considering that I've leeched all the games I've watched online since 2005, and I got all my jerseys for 10 dollars in Korea, and I never get any Redskins broadcasts here now that I am in the US anyway... **** GOODELL and everyone before him IMO. They've all sucked but Goodell has found a way to suck it 10x harder.

[Park City Skins]

Goodell's letter to Jonathan Vilma

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/po...jonathan-vilma

e already shared with you part of a letter from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to New Orleans defensive end Will Smith, explaining the decision to uphold his four-game suspension.

Goodell also decided to uphold the season-long suspension of New Orleans linebacker Jonathan Vilma, although Vilma will be allowed to keep his weekly checks for six weeks on the physically unable to perform list.

Goodell’s letter to Vilma is much longer than the one he sent to Smith, so I’ll do my best to trim it up and include the most important items.

Here’s some of what Goodell wrote to Vilma:
“You confirmed that cart-offs and knockouts were part of a broader program in place among the Saints’ defensive players. You confirmed that these terms referred to plays in which an opposing player has to leave the game for one or more plays. You confirmed that, as (assistant head coach Joe) Vitt testified, an opposing player’s need for smelling salts under a trainer’s care was a consequence of the kind that the program sought to achieve and for which players were offered cash rewards from the incentive pool.’’

*Click Link For More*


Jonathan Vilma’s statement in response to renewed bounty discipline

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...ty-discipline/

Posted by Mike Florio on October 9, 2012, 8:44 PM EDT
[Editor's note: The lawyer representing Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, Peter Ginsberg, has released a statement in response to his renewed bounty discipline. The full statement appears below.]

Commissioner Goodell has crafted a “revised punishment” that continues his previous grossly misplaced interpretation of the “evidence.” What the Commissioner did today is not justice, nor just. The suspension has the fingerprints of lawyers trying to fit a square peg into a round hole to appease an Appeals Panel decision ordering the Commissioner to pay attention to his authority under the CBA. Someone needs to tell the Commissioner directly that his duties also include being true to the evidence, to fundamental notions of due process and to the integrity of the game. That time hopefully will come soon.

Rather than fairly and impartially evaluate the evidence, the Commissioner instead has wrapped his arms around the architect of pay-for-performance programs, Gregg Williams, and attributes Williams’ inflammatory language and bizarre slide shows not to Williams but to the players Williams coached.

*Click Link For More*

[FanboyOf91]

Fujita: Goodell’s the one committing conduct detrimental to the NFL

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...al-to-the-nfl/

The league’s statement about the bounty case, and the reduction of Fujita’s suspension, suggests that the NFL doesn’t think it has strong evidence that Fujita was an active participant in the bounty program. But the NFL does say that Fujita went along with it — which Fujita says is a phony reason to suspend him.

“I’m pleased the Commissioner has finally acknowledged that I never participated in any so-called ‘bounty’ program, as I’ve said for the past 7 months,” Fujita said. “However, his condescending tone was neither accurate nor productive. Additionally, I am now purportedly being suspended for failing to confront my former defensive coordinator for his inappropriate use of language. This seems like an extremely desperate attempt to punish me. I also think it sets a bad precedent when players can be disciplined for not challenging the behavior of their superiors. This is an absolute abuse of the power that’s been afforded to the Commissioner.”

[zoony]

I've always thought they had some testimony from a current player. Obviously they want to keep that person a secret because of the backlash they would face, sort of like witness protection. I could be dead wrong on that, but the certainty of the NFL throughout this always made me think they had an "ace in the hole". And I don't mean Gregg Williams affidavit. They had his testimony all along.

yah, it was Jeremy Shockey