New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was
suspended without pay for the entire 2012 season by the NFL, one of four
players punished Wednesday for participating in the team’s
cash-for-hits bounty system.
Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove,
now with the Green Bay Packers, was suspended for the first half of this
season; Saints defensive end Will Smith was barred for the opening four
games; and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, will
miss the first three games. All of the suspensions are without pay.
All four players have three days to appeal NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s ruling.
An
NFL investigation determined that the Saints had a bounty system from
2009-11 that offered thousands of dollars to players for big hits that
knocked opponents out of games. In March, Goodell suspended Saints head
coach Sean Payton for all of next season, and levied other penalties
against the club.
But no players were punished until Wednesday.
Originally, the league said that 22 to 27 defensive players were
involved in the illegal scheme, which was orchestrated by then-Saints
defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and started in the season New
Orleans won its only Super Bowl championship.
Targeted opponents
included quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Brett Favre and Kurt
Warner. "Knockouts" were worth $1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000,
with
payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.
"In assessing player
discipline, 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," Goodell said in a statement.
According
to the league, Saints defensive captain Vilma offered $10,000 in cash
to any player who knocked then-Cardinals QB Warner out of a playoff game
at the end of the 2009 season, and the same amount for knocking
then-Vikings QB Favre out of that season’s NFC championship game. The
Saints were flagged for roughing Favre twice in that game, and the
league later said they should have received another penalty for a brutal
high-low hit from Remi Ayodele and Bobby McCray that hurt Favre’s
ankle. He was able to finish the game, but the Saints won in overtime en
route to the NFL title.
According to the NFL, Fujita "pledged a
significant amount of money to the prohibited pay-for-performance/bounty
pool during the 2009 NFL Playoffs when he played for the Saints."
Hargrove
"actively participated in the program while a member of the Saints,"
the league said, adding that he "submitted a signed declaration to the
league that established not only the existence of the program at the
Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it."
The NFL said that "multiple independent sources" said Smith "pledged
significant sums to the program pool."
In
March, Goodell made Payton the first head coach suspended by the league
for any reason, accused of trying to cover up the system of extra cash
payouts. Goodell also indefinitely banned Williams, who was hired in
January to run the St. Louis Rams’ defense.
In addition, Goodell
suspended Saints general manager Mickey Loomis for the first eight
regular-season games next season and assistant coach Joe Vitt for the
first six games. The Saints were fined $500,000 and lost two
second-round draft picks.
Fujita, Hargrove, and Smith are allowed
to participate in offseason activity, including preseason games, before
their suspensions take effect. Vilma, though, is suspended immediately
and will be reinstated after the coming season’s Super Bowl — which,
coincidentally, will be played in New Orleans.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
