ScottF

First, no way he was 'guaranteed' the starting job
Second, as for the signed document, they should have editted and come up with a different word than 'deny'. Unfortunately it implies guilt. However, all he signed for was the denial, not admittance.

TheOak

Other questions this spawns for me:

Was there corroboration to Hargrove's statement by Williams? It seems like a very looooong stretch to look at someone confessing a lie and assume what he says "now" is the truth. He is no longer a Saint, no longer under GW, and what would he have to gain? He was suspended for 8 games, so what favor did his moment of clarity gain him?

Was Hargrove punished for a lie or was he punished for his participation?

What happened to make Hargrove recant over two years later?

The big azzzd hole in all of this is "what has Williams been saying to the NFL after his admission of the program?" He went eerily quiet after his march "I am sorry and hope to be a coach again" Comment.

I find it extremely difficult to believe that Greg Williams made his statement to the NFL, was punished, and that was it... He would need to be the soul corroborator for nearly ALL of the statements that were made unless they were full confessions and then he would need to be the one to look at it and say "yep, sounds about right".

I have issue with a liar recanting with out proof that his recant is the truth. The mastermind being the only person that could possibly verify anything verbal.

I think the NFLPA is missing a boat here... If I were the NFLPA, I would immediately commence with depositions, starting with Goodell, then Greg Williams, then each and every person on the investigation team ending up with the chick the NFL brought in to look over everything.

Fine NFL, Goodell, you do not want to show me what you have or tell me what I am up against? I will start digging for my self to find out who knows exactly what has been said, who said it, and whom it was said to.... I will compare stories on my own when I am done.

Any and all inconsistencies will become PUBLIC knowledge.

saintfan

Of course I don't know, but I think this is precisely what the NFLPA is either doing now or preparing to do very soon.

xan

Not that I am a legal expert, but it seems that Hargrove did not admit to knowledge of, or participation in, any "bounty" program. He does admit to following instructions about making a statement precisely.

His best case scenario is that he deliberately obstructed the investigation by the NFL into the program, regardless of his status within the alleged program.

Had he stated to the NFL during his interview that he was told what to say by Williams and Vitt, essentially that his testimony had been tampered, he would have been determined to be guilty at that point, regardless of his position relative to the alleged incident.

Williams and Vitt accused Hargrove of being the "rat," and he was set up. I guess it took some time for Hargrove to figure this out....

Calvin: "I wish I was a Tiger."
Hobbes: "Common lament."

hitta

I don't understand the signed document... all that's in it is Williams and Vitt told Hargrove to play dumb(which I'm not sure how in the heck that gets turned into lying). Besides that, Hargrove never copped to bounties or offered any evidence as to their existence.