QB Drew Brees pans NFL investigation into New Orleans Saints bounty scandal - NFL News
Even after the National Football League (NFL) released most of its findings about the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal to the public and the media, many are still not convinced that the league has sufficient proof to find the players guilty of taking money
to injure opponents.
All four players suspended by the league which include current Saints players, Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith, and former Saints players, Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay Packers and Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland Browns, have refused the allegations
levelled against them and maintain their innocence.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, like many of his teammates, supports the players’ assertion of their innocence and maintains that the evidence the league purports to have does not prove that the players took the bounty.
Speaking at a panel discussion on Tuesday about concussions in New York, the quarterback said about the bounty scandal.
"How can everybody think that when there's been no proof that's been put forth thus far?"
He continued:
"There's been an investigation; there's been a lot of stuff put in the media as to what was going on. But is there any proof to back that up? No, there's not. Not yet."
Brees also said that most of the so-called evidences given by the NFL are based on hearsay and no definitive proof is provided.
He added that if the league has definitive proof it should be out in the open, but as long as they are not available the players are considered wrongly accused.
NFL spokesperson, Greg Aiello, responded in a statement to Brees’ criticism and said that the league’s investigation was thorough and complete. According to Aiello:
"The investigation was thorough and includes statements from multiple sources with firsthand knowledge about the details of the program, corroborating documentation and other evidence."
The quarterback though is not likely to change his mind.
NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, on last Monday had conducted hearings over the appeals filed by the four players although no decision has been made yet.
Vilma has been suspended for one season, Hargrove for eight games, while Smith and Fujita are suspended for four and three games respectively.
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