nfl NFL Slams Saints Over Bountygate; Coach Suspended For 2012 Season

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

NFL Slams Saints Over Bountygate; Coach Suspended For 2012 Season

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has been "suspended for one season without pay for his involvement in the team's bounty program," NFL.com reports.

The team's former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, "has been suspended indefinitely." He ran the program that paid players bounties for hits that knocked opponents out of games. Williams left the Saints after last season to join the St. Louis Rams.

And Saints general manager Mickey Loomis "has been suspended for eight games."

Also, according to CNN, the team has been fined $500,000 and must forfeit second-round picks in the 2012 and 2013 drafts.

Need to catch up on what bountygate, a scandal that has rocked the NFL, is all about? Sports Illustrated has a lengthy look here.

Source: NPR

[Astra.Xtreme]

I'm glad the NFL didn't downplay the situation and brush it off lightly. This should pretty well solve the problem for a while.

[spacer]

Wow, I didn't hear anything about this. Though, I haven't put EPSN on the TV in quite some time...this time of year is so boring when it comes to sports, I don't even bother paying attention.

It should be interesting to see how the Saints fare next season without Payton.

[Farstrider]

Just appoint a nobody as coach (pay him well) and let the real coach (pay him under the table) run the show from behind the scenes?

[jerzdawg]

def glad the punishment was harsh enough to eliminate this in the future. I def think they are being made an example of but I suppose they need it. If this was the Patriots or Giants I am sure the punishment would have been way less severe (imo)

[Mathachew Veteran]

Punishments are definitely necessary, but a whole season for the head coach is excessive. As someone illustrated well on twitter: "Sean Payton gets the same length suspension as Donte Stallworth, who killed someone and went to jail." Ridiculous.

[Guest xiphi]

Just appoint a nobody as coach (pay him well) and let the real coach (pay him under the table) run the show from behind the scenes?

Really? You can't be serious. That'd probably get them in even more trouble than this did.

[Twiddle]

I hate Roger Goodell. This is a ridiculous over-the-top, melodramatic punishment (much like my following post :p). This is American Football, for christ's sakes, not Pop Warner Junior League. When I used to play, we would do thing like this all the time. "20 bucks says I hit him so hard he has to sit out this quarter!, " "You're on!"

They just got caught is all, every team does it in some form, small or large, between players, or player-coach.

Goodell is a sissy, and turning the NFL into a sissy sport. He may as well listen to every teams conversations and investigate them all. I understand the helmet to helmet hits, and vicious attacks, but damnit it is football, some of these fines for hits are ridiculous. And this is a ridiculous punishment.

Also, I am not a Saints fan, I am a football fan, and Roger Goodell can GTFO.

[Farstrider]

Really? You can't be serious. That'd probably get them in even more trouble than this did.

Spacer said It should be interesting to see how the Saints fare next season without Payton.

So, no not really, I was being slightly sarcastic!!

[jerzdawg]

I hate Roger Goodell. This is a ridiculous over-the-top, melodramatic punishment (much like my following post :p). This is American Football, for christ's sakes, not Pop Warner Junior League. When I used to play, we would do thing like this all the time. "20 bucks says I hit him so hard he has to sit out this quarter!, " "You're on!"

They just got caught is all, every team does it in some form, small or large, between players, or player-coach.

Goodell is a sissy, and turning the NFL into a sissy sport. He may as well listen to every teams conversations and investigate them all. I understand the helmet to helmet hits, and vicious attacks, but damnit it is football, some of these fines for hits are ridiculous. And this is a ridiculous punishment.

Also, I am not a Saints fan, I am a football fan, and Roger Goodell can GTFO.

agree and disagree with you. This investigation started back in 2010 - Saints denied all of it and CONTINUED on with the practice. The coach and def cood deserve the suspension. Goodell is def "sissying" up the NFL but with the amount of concussions and servere injuries over the last few years something had to be done. Hard hits are going to happen in the NFL, but when you are awarding your players to hurt the other team - its wrong.

[rajputwarrior]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

eff the saints

[S00N3R FR3AK]

As soon as I heard about this my first thought was the stupid hit on Kurt Warner in the 2010 playoffs when he had no shot to make a play on the ball and a saints player just nails him, That hit pretty much forced him to retire.

[Mathachew Veteran]

As soon as I heard about this my first thought was the stupid hit on Kurt Warner in the 2010 playoffs when he had no shot to make a play on the ball and a saints player just nails him, That hit pretty much forced him to retire.

The hit, which I believe was cheap and didn't care for at the time or now, was legal. Warner himself affirms it was legal and not why he retired. Prior to being hit, Warner was the closest Cardinals player to Will Smith, who intercepted the ball. So yeah, he had a chance to make a play on the ball and this kind of hit isn't uncommon.

[I am Reid]

Punishments are definitely necessary, but a whole season for the head coach is excessive. As someone illustrated well on twitter: "Sean Payton gets the same length suspension as Donte Stallworth, who killed someone and went to jail." Ridiculous.

the fact that man died was not stallworths fault, you clearly didnt follow the case.

[rajputwarrior]

also apparently shockey is the snitch...

[Mathachew Veteran]

the fact that man died was not stallworths fault, you clearly didnt follow the case.

So Stallworth, whose blood-alcohol level was .12 (legal limit .08), hitting the guy with his car had nothing to do with the guy's death? Clearly I'm missing something because I know the guy didn't just drop dead. Reyes jaywalking doesn't mean Stallworth didn't fatally strike the man with his Bentley.

[rajputwarrior]

So Stallworth, whose blood-alcohol level was .12 (legal limit .08), hitting the guy with his car had nothing to do with the guy's death? Clearly I'm missing something because I know the guy didn't just drop dead. Reyes jaywalking doesn't mean Stallworth didn't fatally strike the man with his Bentley.

just saying, that has nothing to do with the NFL. coaches giving money for hurting other players... does.

[DClark]

Punishments are definitely necessary, but a whole season for the head coach is excessive. As someone illustrated well on twitter: "Sean Payton gets the same length suspension as Donte Stallworth, who killed someone and went to jail." Ridiculous.

Sober or not, he would have hit the guy under the circumstances. Every lawyer knows that he would have gotten off the charges, but he plead guilty as he felt morally culpable for his actions (having a blood alcohol level at .12 in the morning after a night of drinking and driving 10 MPH faster than the speed limit).

I hate it when people spend years in jail for killing/injuring someone that would have been hit despite the drinking. It is not as if taxpayers paying $70k/year to incarcerate the "killer" is going to bring the victim back to life.