Severe punishments for those who tarnished reputation of New Orleans Saints - NFL Bounty Scandal Special
New Orleans Saints rise to become one of the elite National Football League (NFL) franchises is one of the most feel-good stories in sports history.
The team had not won a Super Bowl in its entire history before the 2006 arrival of quarterback, Drew Brees, from the San Diego Chargers.
Brees’ arrival combined with the city’s rise from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and their 2009 Super Bowl victory gave Saints fans something to cherish and lasting memories.
However, a recent NFL investigative report released last Friday raised questions on the tactics used by the Saints through a three-year period spanning 2009-11.
The report revealed a culture of bounty payments for injuring opponents and a management which turned a blind eye to the illegal activities occurring in the Saints dressing room.
These revelations put huge question marks over the Saints run to the Super Bowl in particular the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game in 2009 against the Minnesota Vikings in which it is alleged that a bounty of $ 10,000 was offered by defence captain and linebacker, Jonathan Vilma, to any player who injured or knocked out the then Vikings quarterback Brett Favre.
Saints’ ran a bounty pool of $ 50,000 with small payments to players who made crucial plays but most damning of all was the $ 1000-1500 paid to players who knocked out the targeted opposition players.
Ex-defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, was named the ring leader in the illegal scheme while both head coach, Sean Payton, and general manager, Mickey Loomis, gave tacit approval while doing nothing to curb the blatant cheating.
All of those mentioned above have since apologised for their role in the bounty programme.
The report led to a flurry of activity in news media throughout the NFL with New Orleans coming under justified criticism from all over the country.
New Orleans Saints owner, Tom Benson, was not part of the scheme and it is a betrayal to him by the people he pays his hard earned money to.
The scheme calls into question the manner in which New Orleans won its one and only Super Bowl title and also confirms the concerns of many players this season who said that the Saints defence plays dirty and uses unnecessary late tackles that lead to injuries.
New Orleans should be punished severely with fines and suspensions while the players most involved in the scheme should receive long bans to send a message to the rest of the franchises that the NFL will not tolerate such activities.
Roger Goodell now has a decision on his hands much more important than his negotiation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and his actions will likely change the way the franchises operate in the NFL.
Goodell must bring down the hammer on Williams and Vilma after due investigation and for me a lifetime ban is in order to stamp out this reckless behaviour that has tainted the reputation of one of the most recognisable franchises.
It might be true that other franchises too, take part in such schemes but severe punishments of the Saints will likely scare them from continuing with bounties.
Player safety has been the motto for Goodell throughout his tenure and this is the time for him to corroborate his words with actions at a time when the NFL is facing multiple lawsuits from ex-players over concussions.
It is a time for action and every fan is looking toward the commissioner to show leadership and clean up the NFL.
(The views expressed in this article do not reflect the editorial policy of bettor.com)
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