Bounty scandal refuses die down – NFL Feature
The Bounty scandal, which rocked the entire National Football league (NFL) since outset of its public revelation, has tested the league commissioner Roger Goodell’s players’ safety determination more than any other issue relating the professional league
has done since he has taken over as its boss.
It is credit of the league office and also of its boss that they unearthed the covert bounty programme being run by some officials and players at the New Orleans Saints through a secret investigation.
The saga shocked the entire American professional football community but probably not everyone is taken aback by it.
It certainly did not surprise the extremes who believe that hitting and hurting are part of the game.
The commissioner, however, disagrees with them, challenges them and has taken some practical measures to make the game of American football as safe as possible.
He is resolute in his determination irrespective of the fact which he himself probably realises, that it is not so easy to end a long-prevalent culture of roughing and on-field bullying of players.
The gravity of the problem is to an extent of impossibility. For example, since bounty programme came to the limelight it is not going away, and returning at the doorstep of commissioner’s office every now and then.
He has suspended a number of players and a number of officials, and suspended them again with a rather lenient approach, but the issue is far from being over yet.
It is pertinent to mention that the league boss has been meeting the alleged perpetrators of the programme all along to hear their views, and let them have an opportunity to defend themselves.
Irrespective of their contradictory views, they share a common ground among them by denying their involvement. The commissioner says they have admitted in their interviews of being involved, though.
Also, they all have lashed out at the league office as far as imposing of penalty in form of games ban is concerned and have resolved to clear their names.
For example, Cleveland Browns’ Scott Fujita had said that getting himself cleared was more important for him because of family reasons. He feared his children would not forget and forgive him if they found his name in the list of bounty programme perpetrators
in future.
So while the commissioner said he was bent upon exposing the elements of the bounty scandal, particularly in the perspective of its fight for promotion of players’ safety, the issue has refused to die down. In fact, it has kept haunting the entire league
for a period longer than probably the league’s boss might have anticipated initially.
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