NFL: Saints Bounty Thread

[AsylumGuido]

(12-11-2012 02:55 PM)JDaveG Wrote:  Guido, you said earlier this was about clearing Vilma's good name. I wonder if you still think that in light of this:


Do you like apples?

You might find this interesting:

Paul Tagliabue vacates all player penalties in New Orleans Saints bounty scandal

Here's an excerpt from Tagliabue's thought process in vacating Vilma's twice issued season-long suspension: "It is essential to recognize that Vilma is being most severely disciplined for 'talk' or speech at a team meeting on the evening before the Saints-Vikings game. He is not being punished for his performance on the field and, indeed, none of the discipline of any player here relates to on-field conduct.

"No Saints' player was suspended for on-field play by the League after the game in question. If the League wishes to suspend a player for pre-game talk including 'offers' to incentivize misconduct, it must start by imposing enhanced discipline for illegal hits that involve the kind of player misconduct that it desires to interdict. The relationship of the discipline for the off-field "talk" and actual on-field conduct must be carefully calibrated and reasonably apportioned. This is a standard grounded in common sense and fairness. ...

"If one were to punish certain off-field talk in locker rooms, meeting rooms, hotel rooms or elsewhere without applying a rigorous standard that separated real threats or "bounties" from rhetoric and exaggeration, it would open a field of inquiry that would lead nowhere. ...

"Adding to the complexity, there is little evidence of the tone of any talk about a bounty before the Vikings game. Was any bounty pledged serious? Was it inspirational only? Was it typical "trash talk" that occurs regularly before and during games? The parties presented no clear answers. No witness could confirm whether Vilma had any money in his hands as he spoke; no evidence was presented that $10,000 was available to him for purposes of paying a bounty or otherwise. There was no evidence that Vilma or anyone else paid any money to any player for any bounty-related hit on an opposing player in the Vikings game.

"I neither excuse nor condone the alleged offer of a bounty on Favre, whether offered by any player, coach, other Saints' employee or third party. Such conduct has no place in the game of professional football. I cannot, however, uphold a multi-game suspension where there is no evidence that a player's speech prior to a game was actually a factor causing misconduct on the playing field and that such misconduct was severe enough in itself to warrant a player suspension or a very substantial fine. Nor can I find justified a suspension where Williams and other Saints' personnel so carefully crafted an environment that would encourage and allow a player to make such an ill-advised and imprudent offer. I therefore vacate the suspension of Jonathan Vilma."

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Tagliabue clearly states that there was no evidence that Vilma truly offered any bounty on Favre. Once again, there still has not been any evidence presented that any bounties ever existed. Yes, I know they are now calling the performance pool bounties, but that is not what the initial claims implied.