NFLPA Sues Over Bounty Scandal

Added on Jul 05, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

The most bizarre story to hit the NFL in years took another strange turn today when the Players Association filed a federal lawsuit against the league for the unlawful suspension of three of the alleged participants in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal. This marks the second such suit against the Commissioner’s office, following the one filed by Jonathan Vilma last month.

The latest legal brawl accuses Roger Goodell of passing judgement on suspended players Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith prior to acting as arbitrator at their hearing. If this is true, Goodell would’ve violated terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“A seminal question for this court is whether the NFL collective bargaining agreement … granted the commissioner, when serving as an arbitrator, the authority to disregard the essence of the parties’ agreement, to conduct proceedings that are fundamentally unfair, and to act with evident bias and without jurisdiction,” the lawsuit states. “The answer, under governing case law, is clearly ‘no.’”

Of course the league maintains they followed procedure and feels there is no basis whatsoever for the suit. In their eyes, the matter has been handled properly, and since the scandal is considered conduct detrimental, the Commissioner has the authority to act as an arbitrator.

All four suspended players have denied any role in a pay-for-performance system and all four feel they have been unfairly mistreated in what they describe as a rush to judgement. Two previous appeals have sided with the league, so the odds of this one gaining any traction are slim.

For better or worse, Goodell has drawn a clear line in the sand as of late in dealing with problematic behavior. His stance on overly aggressive hits has drawn the ire of players and fans alike. On the other hand, he has awarded second chances to convicted felons Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress. His decision-making may be questionable, but his determination to improve the reputation of the league is unwavering.

Source: ESPN.com