The latest penalties against the New Orleans Saints were issued earlier this week with a strong message: Bounties will NOT be tolerated in the NFL. Four players received suspensions; two of which are still on the Saints roster. Scott Fujita (currently with the Browns) was hit with a 3 game suspension, Will Smith was handed 4, Anthony Hargrove (currently with Packers) was given 8 games and Jonathan Vilma was slapped with a *drum-roll* season long suspension. SEASON LONG?!?! How crazy is that?!
Let's first discuss the what we could have been looking at. I reported in an earlier post that 22 out of 27, former and current players were involved in the scandal so all things considered, we got off easy. We could have easily been looking at an entire new defense come September. Also, keep in mind that we signed 3 very good and athletic LBs this off-season which shows that we were preparing for life without Vilma far before any of this happened so from a talent standpoint; we are still a Super Bowl caliber team (once Drew signs of course).
The issue I have - as well as many others - is that this entire investigation has been fueled by the current player safety lawsuits. Instead of fairly being punished we are now the poster team for his "Not on my watch" campaign and Vilma is now the villain; Dr. Doom and Frieza ( for my DBZ lovers) wrapped in one. From here on out, Vilma and bounty scandal will be synonymous with each other. We all know he has the option to and will appeal the rulings but Goodell is the judge and jury so I don't think he'll change mind on the topic.The damage is done and now it is becoming more and more ingrained in everyone's head day after day (see Sports Illustrated cover up top).
Goodell isn't concerned about how fair the punishments are at this point, it's the message. Why else would you suspend a player for an entire year for something that did not give the team an competitive advantage? On second thought, I guess we shouldn't be shocked at all. It is Roger Goodell we are talking about. Giving his track record, it fits.
But who's really the villian in all this???
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