League Lowers Boom on Saints Players

Added on May 02, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

It was only a matter of time before the NFL powers that be got around to addressing the Saints players implicated in the now infamous “Bounty” program. Today the Commissioner’s office finally delivered the bad news to a quartet of current and ex-Saints known to have accepted a lead role in targeting opponents for cash. Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith have all been suspended.

Vilma, the Captain of the New Orleans defense, received the harshest punishment of the four after being slapped with a year-long suspension that will prevent him from playing in 2012. This comes as little surprise since he was the only Saint player to be publicly linked to the scandal when it broke in March. He was also said to have offered $10,000 to anyone who could injure Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC title game.

In addition, Fujita, who now plays for the Browns, will sit the first three games of the 2012 season without pay. Hargrove, now a Packer, will serve an eight-game suspension without pay, and defensive end Will Smith will miss the first four games without pay.

All things considered, New Orleans got off easy. As many as 27 players were rumored to be involved in the bounty system, but Roger Goodell elected to focus his justice on the ring leaders.

“In assessing player discipline,” Goodell said, “I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.”

At least the Saints were smart enough to fill Vilma’s void with former Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton, who inked a 5-year, $33.5 million deal on March 24th. However, the team is still without a head coach and they find themselves labeled pariahs both inside and outside NFL circles.

Source: NFL.com