Has bounty scandal dented Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita's reputation?
Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita still remains on the fight against the National Football League (NFL) to clear his name in the covert bounty programme that was in implementation during his successful tenure with the New Orleans Saints, and the main
reason is not him but his family and children who, he fears, will find him in the alleged culprits list down the course of history in the future.
Fujita has been suspended along with other alleged perpetrators of the illegal reward-for-hit programme – a fund constituted by the Saints officials and players to reward players for hitting and injuring their opponents.
The Browns linebacker is accused of having contributed to the funding of the programme, which he has denied throughout, but to little avail, as far as the penalty imposed on him by the league is concerned.
It is not just the ban that has concerned the player and created urgency for clearing his name. It is his reputation that is at stake, potentially having an impact on his family in the longer run.
"When she Googles my name someday, what will come up?" – is the question that bothers the player as he remains on a hospital bed recovering from a minor surgery, while cuddling his newly born third daughter besides him.
He said:
"That thought has eaten away at me. And it turned every day this offseason into an emotional roller coaster."
It is not clear if he stands any chance of proving his innocence before the court of law because as of the latest some of the penalised players and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) have moved the court to seek overruling of the league’s decision.
It will depend on the possibility that the players are able to win a ruling in their favour, but if not, it will be really bad for Fujita and almost all other players who foresee their future at stake.
Independently expressed views do not bode well with the hopes of the players given the alleged bounty programme chain has many links attached to each other - while some of them have cracked under the league’s ruling pressure, the remaining might not survive
ever.
It is pertinent to note that Fujita has spent some time on the NFLPA, and is given credit for helping negotiation of the latest collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which has incorporated better terms for the pro players.
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