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This is what we know. Unless there is some sort of a last minute agreement between the NFL and union, Commissioner Roger Goodell is going to punish players that participated in the Saints bounty system. From all indications, he's going to come down very hard on some of them.

Second, the high level meetings between union officials and the league that have taken place over the past week or so, culminating in a four hour session on Monday that included union chief DeMaurice Smith and Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a member of the executive committee, have gone nowhere.

The union has stated publicly the NFL has not provided detailed proof of a pay-to-injure scheme.

So this is what's likely to happen (again barring some last minute change). Players will be punished for their role in the bounty scandal and both sides will then fight like hell. The union to overturn that punishment, the NFL to keep it in place.

Yet there's another angle to this and it's an important one and vital to the future credibility of a powerful union that most of the time does the smart thing and the right thing.

The union has an obligation to defend the players the Saints targeted for injuries. But the union, admittedly in a tough spot, isn't doing this.

The union is mostly defending the Saints. But the Saints players are the perpetrators. This is akin to the baseball union defending steroid cheats at the expense of a player base that follows the rules.

The union is run by smart and capable men, like Smith, but they just don't seem to notice a glaring blind spot which is they are defending the bad guys at the expense of the bounty victims.

Players Michael Crabtree, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Kyle Williams, Alex Smith, and maybe more, were targeted by Saints players. Shouldn't the union be more concerned about them?

There is also the uncomfortable fact that Brees continues to say the NFL has yet to provide proof to the NFLPA of its claims. To say that Brees has a tad bit of a conflict of interest is an understatement.

The punishment will come down soon. The union will fight like hell. But there are a few fights worth walking away from

Union on wrong side of Saints case? - CBSSports

Halo

gandhi1007

Again........show us some real evidence other than Roger Goodell said it happened.

saintsfan1976

Said this since day one. The only proof is that GWilliams CALLED for it to happen. NOT that it happened. Check the tapes.

gandhi1007

LOL. There's not even proof of that yet. I listened to that whole infamous GW rant & not once did I hear mention of money being offered for anything.

SaintPauly

I love how these "in the know" fans, keep bringing up the EDITED recording, as their proof of wrong doing. WTFE........ Honestly, I'm sick of hearing about this....

saintsfan1976

Edited or not, it gave the NFL more proof than it needed to paint GW as an immoral, head-hunting coach. Which is exactly what the league is trying to rid itself of. And exactly what the league told them to STOP doing.

BIGEASY504

I think a lot of the WHODATNATION feels this way we need proof - game tapes will tell this and you can't have non football players trying to govern this, who will say that the hit that Vilma put on Smith is not the same type of hit Ray Lewis did when Ravens played the 49ers so can you imagine some lawyer type who never played the game doing this?

BIGEASY504

I'm solely talking about the players I'm not talking about the coaches

SaintsBro

More daily dose of haterade from CBS sports -- I don't even care what their writers at CBS Sports say anymore -- they're just jealous and trying to bring us down, because the Saints are one of the highest draws for ratings and ad revenue in all of pro sports, and they're a FOX network property, and not on CBS. That's all it is, folks. Get used to it.