Detroit Lions LB Stephen Tulloch says New Orleans Saints punishments eye opener for other teams - NFL News
The fallout from the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal continues as the franchise’s management prepares to appeal their suspensions with the National Football League (NFL).
Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch shared his thoughts on the severe punishments handed down to the Saints in an interview with the
Detroit Free Press.
The Lions linebacker was greatly surprised when the news broke out about the bounty scandal and said that the punishments faced by the Saints will keep others from even thinking about placing bounties on their opponents.
“I know the league came down on them and what not. It's a tough penalty to deal with. I think it's a lesson to be told to everybody -- if they are doing it, that it's real, and I think people are listening to it."
Adding further, Tulloch said.
"I'm sure ballclubs around the NFL that have done it or have thought about doing it, it'll stop there."
The Saints defensive roster was involved in placing bounties on their opponents during games to give the players an extra incentive to make crunching tackles.
An NFL report released earlier cited that the players received around $ 1,000 to 1,500 for making rough tackles which would injure or knockout their opponents from the game.
Tulloch though was shocked that any player would go out on the field to make such plays and thinks that the Saints were playing with their opponents livelihoods with their rough play.
"I think it's unreal, man, to go out there and to have in your mind that you want to take somebody's career out. You've got to look at it as people are trying to feed their family, and to go out there and have the mind-set of taking them out, it's not right."
The whole programme was run under the guidance of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams who has since been suspended for life by the league.
The scandal has put the spotlight on other teams where Williams had stints including Tulloch’s old team the Tennessee Titans.
However, the linebacker denied having ever noticed a play-to-injure program at the Titans and said that if there was one he never got to know about it.
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