Goodell on Saints’ bounties: Evidence is clear, players embraced it
 

In a hint that the punishment for players involved in the Saints’ bounty scandal will be severe, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the program was not simply ordered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, but celebrated by the players who participated in it.

Goodell told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen in an interview for an upcoming edition of the Rich Eisen Podcast that bounty discipline is coming “soon,” and he dismisses the notion floated by some that the players shouldn’t be punished because they were merely doing what their coach told them to do.

“[The] evidence was clear that the players embraced it,” Goodell said. “I don’t think they are absolved from responsibility.”

More than a month after Goodell announced that he had suspended Williams indefinitely, Saints coach Sean Payton for a year, Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis for eight games and Saints assistant Joe Vitt for six games, Goodell has still not announced the suspensions for the Saints’ players who were involved in the team’s program of bounties over the last three seasons. But the indications are that the announcement could come as soon as today, and that the news won’t be good for the Saints.

Goodell on Saints

OK so WHERE THE F*** is the evidence Goodell Castro?!?!? I swear man......F*** ALL of these guys. ESPN, Commish, talkin heads that know nothing about OUR TEAM!! F*** ALL OF EM!!!

Whoa big fella!! Tell us how you really feel!!

Apparently you embraced this as well Goodell since you reportedly let it go on for years to "gather evidence" you hypocritical smuck.

As soon as you get through with your Saints hate binge, be sure to suspend and fine yourself for letting all this supposed evil go on so long...

And while you're at it, I think fines/suspensions/boycotts/whatever are due for ESPN, NFL Network, NFL Films etc for showing and celebrating violent hits.

Thats how I feel right now real talk. F*** anyone and everyone that calls us cheater or just uses this as a stepping stone to say we suck. Almost all of the "fan" outrage is coming from people who don't like the Saints cuz we've skull drug their team at one point or another. The media has no problem destroying anyone's career and reputation because it boosts ratings & site visits from said fans "outraged" by the Saints behavior. And the NFL of course is about covering its own a** and could give 2 s***s about player saftey or the "integrity" of the game. They only care about money. So yeah thats how I really feel F*** em ALL!!

If the evidence is so clear.. why has the NFLPA taken so long reviewing this BS, why has the NFL not submitted evidence to NFLPA, and WHY has 0 EVIDENCE been said? The ONLY mentioned of ANY played was Vilma putting up money.

Where's the rest of the comments?

Goodell is bull****ting and fabricating his "feeling" for evidence.

I still do not understand why the Jackazz would comment on it publicly.

There is a little different version on NFL.com
Translation: Prepare for the hammer drop.
NFL.com news: Goodell: New Orleans Saints players 'embraced' bounties

He shouldnt be talking about untill the judgment has been passed.
If a judge or Jury started talking publicly about cases he would be held in contempt of court or barred from the bench.
GODell is judge and jury so why is he talking in public

Can we sue Goodell for being a Douchenozzle?

Why not. Would make a funny headline story.

Indeed. Listening to Goodell is like watching sportscenter. He repeats the same crap over and over again every hour, and it is mostly, if not entirely, Malarkey.

He has said so many times that evidence was clear, yet never shows it... I don't know why I'm still reacting to this. Freaking unbelievable.

I think the plan is to just wear everyone down and get to the point where we will take whatever he says as gospel just to get this over with. After all, Repetition is the mother of learning!

At some point, somewhere in the past, during Loomie and Sean's tenure in New Orleans, they pissed somebody off...but good. My guess is it was a media favorite (a hand picked NFL "Insider") or somebody at the league office who works closely with the media.

Regardless, whomever that person was got pissed and this whole bountygate spying nonsense has been scripted by that person or those people.

I'm saying this because it's just all too convenient. At first I thought this was about pending player lawsuits against the NFL, and I still believe that issue is part of it, but the more I see "trusted" media outlets piling on, particularly with the latest thing against Loomie, without even the slightest thread of evidence to support the accusations...

Look, there is a front page article on the mother ship's website right now that refers to Loomis as "out of control" and "capable of doing just about anything". This piece says that since he was "reckless enough" to ignore the order to shut down the 'bounty' program (of which I have YET to see any real evidence) that it is no stretch to think this latest 'scandal' is real.

People this is worse than tabloid 'reporting'. This is looking more and more like a real effort to slander and embarrass two people - Sean and Loomie. This particular article slams Loomie...but hard...

My God I hope he can take legal action and if he can, I hope and pray that he does. This is going (or has already gone) beyond sports. This is a personal vendetta that needs to land in a court of law.

I agree! Defamation of Character or something!

I would be willing to pay for the filing of the Suit if it includes the word "Douchenozzle"

If I could like this 2x I would :)
Theres a means to this madness.

By "embrace," Goodell must mean that coaches' instructions, for whom players are institutionally conditioned to follow without question, were followed without question.

Ah, free will vs. employment. Poverty vs. Paycheck. The moral dilemma never sleeps.

Could be someone is after Benson, Loomis, and Payton. Jerry Jones comes to mind. I love a good conspiracy also..

Yep... JACKED UP BABY......Just like baseball used the steroids home run era to come out from the strike year, you turned a blind eye to your cash cow networks promoting and exploiting hits that were causing the damage to your players... and you never said a word or moved to stop it you friggin hypocrit.... not till the spector of being put on the witness stand did you become all friggin sanctimonious and "caring"

Just shut up and suspend the entire defense from last year..... Coach Vitt and Drew Brees are going to embarrass your @ss when we win it all again....

Oh he's gonna' get his. He's gonna get it.......