Now that a few weeks have gone by since NFL Commisioner Roger Goodell has levied punishments against the New Orleans Saints, including the coaches and G.M. who new about and or took part in the ‘Cash for Injury’ scheme, the only judgements that need to still be handed down by the NFL are the fines/suspensions of the players directly involved, such as Jonathan Vilma.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is still reviewing the evidence regarding players on the Saints, like Jonathan Vilma, who were directly involved in the outlay of money in the Bountygate scandal. Photo: matthew Sharpe/Getty Images
And as we have suggested when the whole ‘Bountygate’ issue was first exposed, there will undoubtedly be many civil suits that will flood the courts filed by those who feel they are the victims of this scandal. Some people think that is the reason that Goodell came down so hard…
We had chosen to hold off on our take on the events surrounding this whole ‘Bountygate’ situation until all the fallout from the comments , blogs , and talk shows have all been discussed and rehashed adnauseum . To all those who think that Goodell was ‘too tough’ on the Saints and that ‘this is the way football is supposed‘ to be played, we have this to say:
It doesn’t matter why Goodell came down on the Saints the way he did. We applaud him for it. This kind of ‘Pay for Play’ practice, whether it has been going on for one year or 40, has a negative affect on the intergrity of the game and it’s illegal! If left to fester unscathed, why couldn’t this practice transcend itself into other sports?
A flagrant 2 hard foul -like the one Jason Smith levied on Blake Griffin a week ago yesterday- could have taken Griffin out for the season or worse. Or the flagrant foul by Dwight Howard on Paul Pierce in the Eastern Conf. Finals in 2010.
ORLANDO, FL - MAY 18: Dwight Howard #12 of the Orlando Magic comitts a flagrant foul against Paul Pierce #34 of the Boston Celtics in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Photo: John Raoux/Getty Images
A base runner taking out a second baseman or a catcher in baseball could have ‘ulterior motives’ that can cause season ending injuries. A pitcher could have a bounty on a batter and get extra $$ for plunking him hard enough so that he is forced to leave the game. Maybe he gets more money if the player ends up on the DL… Same goes for Hockey, Soccer, and a whole host of sports.
This scheme that has been fostering within the Saints organization, as well as among other football teams, has been a cancer that needed to be removed. Roger Goodell has begun to remove this desease from the most popular sport on the planet. Unlike Bud Selig or David Stern, Roger Goodell has been one of the most effective, well-respected, and popular of all sports commissioners. The Saints were asked several times in the past couple of years to stop what they were doing. They chose not not listen. All Goodell did was to draw a line in the sand and say, “Enough”! And for that he is to be commended…
N.O. Saints G.M Mickey Loomis, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and Saints head coach Sean Payton.
Photo: Getty Images
FANTASY FURNACE 
Well said. I think one of my biggest problems with Bounty Gate is the trickle down effect it has on youth sports. As with steroids, this kind of ‘cart them off the field’ mentality is seen as acceptable to the kids playing high school ball. And that’s too high a price to pay in my opinion.
Great post.
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Thanks Cayman! You raise an interesting point…I would hope that most of the High School coaches would know better than to allow this to infiltrate the school systems since they have less to gain than professional coaches. Clearly you would think they would want to set a good example for the kids, however everyone wants that ‘edge’ and I guess the only was to discourage coaches on a lower level is to set examples like Goodell has done on a higher one.
Thanks for the compliments!
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I was just in New Orleans and shirts like “Free Payton” and “Sack Goodell” are all over.
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Well, yeah you would figure that would be the case in New Orleans…Payton has announced that he’s appealed the ruling so we’ll see what Goodell does. I hope he sticks to what he said. Gregg Williams the DC said he will not file an appeal.
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Sean Payton has not admitted to running a play for pain sheme in New Orleans. That phrase was the brainchild of the news media and Goodell took off with it. This whole scandal has been told, retold land spun into the public minds and now all are against the Saints even though many more are just as cuplable. In order to have fairness in judging the respective partys, why not have players from teams that the Saints have faced in those 3 years and get thier own imput on whether they were the victime of a conspiracy to do them bodily harm for pay. If that would draw this thing out even turther, that is just too bad. We have here the professional lives and family security of severtal men hanging in the balance. I for one don’t believe that Roger Goodell has the player safety at heart as he claims. He has revamped the OT rule that was on the books for decades and now the players have to play longer and harder to win and that can cause more injuries. The reason for sudden death was to minimize the case for injuries. Then he wants to extend the regular season to 18 games, thus making the players risk injuries for two additional games. And then there is the matter of Thursday night football. Now the teams have a short week and cuts into thier rest and recuperation times. So much for safet of players concerns. It is about the money and nothing more. He seems to be more concerned with the meager bonus interfering with the salary cap than player safety and integrity of the league. Payton addmitted he wasn’t viligant enough to see it in front of his face. That is his fault, no one else. But this one year suspension wiith no pay and the Saints fined a half a million dollars, Loomis suspended for 8 games, Vitt for 6 games is just way over the top. And I am not the only one that feels this way. Many fans in other parts of the country feel the same as I do.
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I am in favor of taking the responsibility of enforcing suspensions and legal issues with Bountygate out of Roger Goodell hands and placing it in the jurisdicttion of a panel of union member and team owners. I feel that Goodell’s may have bias in his rulings and this would be groosly unfair to any player or players that may be implicated.
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