Vilma’s lawyer calls NFL process “a kangaroo court”
 

On Monday, lawyer Peter Ginsberg submitted a 17-point request to the NFL for information regarding the allegation that Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was involved in a bounty program. On Tuesday, Ginsberg said he has heard nothing in response.

Ginsberg discussed the situation on WWL radio, and he used strong words to describe the league’s investigative process.

“The fact that we haven’t received a single piece of evidence from the Commissioner not only makes the whole process suspect but made it important that we ask the Commissioner as specifically as we possibly could what we think we should be able to see in order to even the playing field and in order to give Jonathan a fair hearing,” Ginsberg said, via Nakia Hogan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “And I must say that the Commissioner still hasn’t responded to this most recent request. This is not the first time we have asked them for the evidence.”

Vilma

It's a sad day in America boy and girls when this is allowed to continue. Roger must be FORCED BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY to SHOW THIS EVIDENCE.

If they had evidence they would show it. The commish doesn't have anything and will come out of this badly.(I hope)

I hope you are right. But come on he can't be that stupid to say he has X amount of pages, and this investigation has been going on for three years. Or can he??

If he is working under the assumption that he either (A) will never have to show the evidence or (B) can get away a second time with 'destroying the evidence for the good of the league' then yes, he could very well be that...well...stupid.

He should not be allowed to police his own actions in such a way. That's why I'm all for a player strike, even though I know that won't happen. The truth is all the players would have to do is threaten to do it. Roger and the league would cave inside a week if they did.

The investigation wasn't going on for three years. After the playoff game in 2010 against the Vikings someone went to the NFL and claimed there was a bounty on Favre. The NFL investigated and could find no evidence and closed the case after warning the Saints. Two years later just before the Detroit playoff game in 2012 someone else went to the league and claimed the Saints had bounties going on. The league, at that time, reopened the case and the rest is history. They demanded access to all of the Saints email on the NFL server. It consisted of 18,000 emails and 50,000 printed pages. The only evidence we have heard about from those 50,000 pages is two emails from federal prison from Ornstein jesting, according to him, about bounties on Rodgers and Newton.

He didn't lie, he just didn't tell all of the truth at first. The information above was from Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune.

I was leaning towards they had something concrete but now I'm having second thoughts. If the NFL violated the CBA their lawyers didn't do their homework because at that point it would not matter what they had. Even if they believed the odds were in their favor it still would not be worth it.

That slim chance of losing to the NFLPA and the players would be a major defeat and cost a lot of them their jobs along with making the "shield" look like a garbage can lid. If they show beyond a reasonable doubt the players broke rules it would also show the NFL broke rules. You can't sign a contract and only follow the stipulations that serve you and igonre the ones that serve the other party. That is not how an agreement works.
Once you break the agreement you are liable for all damages to the other parties.

There's no question at this point that the NFL is being out-lawyered and outmaneuvered by the NFLPA's lawyers. That "17 point request" from Vilma's lawyer is just balls to the wall awesome. And the NFL's lawyers are starting to look like the Keystone Kops. Every time something new blows up in their face they seem surprised.

This is awesome!