Bounty scandal: Cleveland Browns LB Scott Fujita meets NFL Boss Roger Goodell – NFL News
The National Football League (NFL) is expected to announce outcome of Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita's meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell and other players who are accused of contributing to the covert bounty programme which was in implementation
at the New Orleans Saints under supervision of some officials and players.
Some sections of media have cited unconfirmed reports and anonymous sources privy to the meeting between Fujita and Goodell that took place on Friday (September 28) that the office is likely to come up with a verdict of either penalising the Browns linebacker
and three other players or letting them walk off unpunished.
Fujita met the league’s boss for an hour after earlier cancelling the originally planned video conference on the office’s insistence to meet the player in person. Although the official version is yet to come, expected by this Tuesday, on the surface the
meeting has ended up inconclusive.
It is pertinent to mention that the league has suspended Fujita and other contributors of the illegal reward-for-hit programme for three games each. However, the players moved the court of law against the ruling and got it suspended for a while. This has
facilitated return of players like Fujita who is back with the side after missing the season opener.
He now remains hopeful to get his name clear once and for all after having denied contributing to the bounty plan.
The player has insisted that getting his name clear is essential to future of his kids and other members of the family as what they will make of him on finding his name in the alleged perpetrators’ list on internet in future.
The bounty scandal has rocked the league since it was unearthed through a league’s investigation and has taken toll on careers of a number of officials and players such as Fujita.
The emergence of the programme that promised hefty payments to players for hitting and injuring their opponents has coincided with increased emphasis by the league over players’ safety and security on the field.
The office is already facing a large number of lawsuits from its former players who have accused it of compromising their safety and mishandling their injuries, concussions in particular.
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