NFL delivers severe punishments to New Orleans Saints over bounty scandal - NFL News
When the National Football League (NFL) first revealed the existence of New Orleans Saints bounty program in a report released on Friday, March 2nd, 2012, it was obvious that commissioner, Roger Goodell, would come down hard with severe punishments
for the franchise.
Goodell delivered on all counts as on Wednesday, he announced some of the severest punishments a franchise has ever received in the history of the league which dwarf the previous punishments received by the New England Patriots in 2007.
The Saints will be fined $ 500,000 for running the illegal program but the punishment doesn’t end there as head coach Sean Payton received a year’s suspension for failing to put an end to the illegal program, former defensive coordinator and current St.
Louis Rams coach Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely from the game.
General Manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt also received suspensions of eight and six games respectively.
The Saints have also had their second round draft picks revoked for the 2012 and 2013 drafts.
The players involved in the scheme too will face punishments but the league has delayed punishments on them as they wait to ascertain completely the level of involvement in the scheme by the 22-27 players who took part in the illegal scheme.
The Saints released their statement on the punishments.
"To our fans, the NFL and the rest of our league, we offer our sincere apology and take full responsibility for these serious violations. There is no place for bounties in our league and we reiterate our pledge that this will never happen again."
Goodell delivered a strong statement to the media after the announcement of the punishments and said that such programs will not be tolerated in the league.
“We are all accountable and responsible for player health and safety and the integrity of the game. We will not tolerate conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities. No one is above the game or the rules that govern it."
New Orleans Saints defensive line had been found guilty of running a bounty scheme for three seasons spanning 2009-11 with Williams being the brain behind the program.
The Saints players were paid around $ 1,000 to 1,500 for knocking out targeted opposition players from the game and were given the payments out of a pool of cash that at its peak reached $ 50,000.
For three seasons, New Orleans kept the program secret and the players even denied its existence during an earlier NFL investigation.
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