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Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue vacated all penalties levied on four players the league said were involved in a bounty program the New Orleans Saints ran for three years.

Tagliabue, appointed by commissioner Roger Goodell as an independent arbiter, released his ruling Tuesday (see Tagliabue's full statement), more than nine months after the league originally issued its findings from a multi-year investigation.

Current Saints Jonathan Vilma (season-long suspension) and Will Smith (four games), along with former New Orleans player Anthony Hargrove (eight games) will no longer face suspensions or fines. Tagliabue, however, did find that the players did “engage” in conduct detrimental to the league

Additionally, former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita (three games) was completely exonerated of conduct detrimental to the league, Tagliabue finding only that he was involved in a “non-injury” pay-for-performance pool.

The onus, Tagliabue said, is on the coaches who ran the program and covered it up to the league throughout its investigation.

“The present appeals are a small piece of a much larger picture,” Tagliabue said. “Senior Saints’ coaches conceived, encouraged and directed the Program. While it included performance rewards for recovering fumbles, interceptions and the like, it also came to include higher cash incentives to “cart-off” or “knockout” an opposing player.”

Making matters difficult for Goodell, Tagliabue said, were that “Saints’ coaches and managers led a deliberate, unprecedented and effective effort to obstruct the NFL’s investigation into the program and the alleged bounty.”

Tagliabue vacates all discipline against players in bounty case |
wwltv.com New Orleans

Well what now.....

Ashley

WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports - Tagliabue Vacates Saints Suspensions
another article

lee909

Sounds like a way to make sure they dont have too pay compensation to the coaches,benson and not have to give the picks back
Dirty barstewards are trying to wriggle out.
They know the players are the only ones that can fight back

Ashley

Well if that is it Benson should throw his hat in and try to get those picks back, he might not be able to do anything with the coaches. But try for the draft pick

lee909

They will not give the picks back
They are pinning the blame on the coaches and franchise,saying it came from them.The penalties will against the look at as against the team not the players.
The only people screwed in this was the fans and coaches who lost money.The ones that dont have a union to fight back

xan

Tags realized that a protracted legal battle could jeapardize the entire league disciplinary structure and open up a lot of fairness issues. Take it on the chin, then negotiate the Vilma suit away with a gag clause.

Expediency, thy name is NFL.

lee909

This is just there way of backing out of the fight but being able to hold face with player safety.The coaches and franchise dont have the leverage the players do to fight back.So we still get screwed but having the season destroyed before it began and loosing another high pick

TheOak

Why enforce the Suspensions.

The damage to the team and its fans is done, and cant be reversed by Tag, Goodell, or God.

NuNu318

Vilma's lawyer already tweeted that the defamation case will go on. So we'll see how that goes...

Mardigras9

We want Goodell's job and nothing less.