NFL Files "evidence" today
 

NEW ORLEANS -- The NFL on Thursday provided a federal judge with what it says is evidence commissioner Roger Goodell did not improperly pre-judge the four players suspended in the bounty investigation.

The evidence includes a copy of a letter the NFL Players' Association sent the league on March 7 asking Goodell to delay punishment of players implicated in the bounty probe.

It also includes a sworn declaration from Goodell in which he states he was prepared to hand down player discipline at the same time he announced suspensions for coaches and executives on March 21. Goodell's declaration states he held off after verbally agreeing to do so in a phone conversation with union head DeMaurice Smith.


NFL files evidence backing commissioner Roger Goodell in Jonathan Vilma case - ESPN

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

I hope Goodell goes down in flames.

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

He will.

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

For some reason I'm just not following this story. Why should anyone care whether or not Goodell was asked to delay punishment? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this whole thing about the players accusing Roger of punishing them without adequate, or really any evidence at all? Isn't Vilma's lawsuit about Defamation? This copy (what a surprise, another copy of something and not an original) of whatever they claim the NFLPA asked for has absolutely nothing to do with anything in my eyes.

NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The NFL on Thursday provided a federal judge with what it says is evidence Commissioner Roger Goodell did not improperly pre-judge the four players suspended in the bounty investigation.

The evidence includes a copy of a letter the NFL Players Association sent the league on March 7 asking Goodell to delay punishment of players implicated in the bounty probe.



Read more: NFL files evidence in New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Vilma case - NFL - SI.com

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Did he provide the reply telling the NFLPA "no"?


Goodell/NFL
http://www.southerner.net/fast/gaudet3s.jpg

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

I'm tired of all this bounty talk. It's really starting to piss me off every time I come on here there's something about bounties. Hell I wanna read about how our DB's are giving our receivers problems. About how our D line is making our O line work for protecting their QB. to hell with all this bounty stuff. Of the NFL is THAT confident send GODell to the stand and get it the fu*k over with!!! Sorry had to go off... WHODAT!

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

I am no lawyer, but as I understand it:
Goddell made statements about the players when he issued punishment for the coaches in March, such as "they embraced [the bounty [program]", and named Vilma and Smith as the leaders. But then, he made statements in April about how the investigation was still on-going and he was still considering evidence to arrive at a decision on what the punishments should be. If he indeed had made up his mind in March and was ready to hand out punishments in March before the investigation was concluded in late April, it shows that he had a prejudice against the players, and therefore was not an impartial arbitrator either on handing out original punishments, or the appeals. It also enforces Vilma's claims of defamation, as any statement made before the investigation was concluded would be considered slanderous.

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Exactly right. Goodell made public statements about Jonathan Vilma's involvement in it, before he had administered the punishments and heard the player appeals. But when they got into court, Goodell's attorneys had tried to make it sound like the investigation and punishments were decided in an earlier timeline, a timeline that made Goodell's version of the story look better in terms of the case before the court. But which doesn't jibe with certain of the facts.

The defamation comes from the prejudicial public statements that Goodell made involving Vilma's name, before the investigation and appeals process was "complete." The NFL has basically said two different things about when they were completed.

It also shows that Goodell and specifically the NFL attorneys, are either lying or at minimum stretching the truth to suit their case. It's not perjury because they weren't under oath, but it would be an obvious and documented lie nonetheless. And if they do it in one instance, then there may be others, and if so then the judge obviously needs to consider that whenever the NFL says anything in her courtroom from now on.

So that's pretty important, it could be proving what we have been saying all along, that Goodell plays fast and loose with the facts and "evidence" to suit his whims.

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

It's hard to determine who is the most dishonest.........banks or the NFL. It's sad really.:argue:

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

NFLPA has responded:

Via PFT's Florio

"Predictably (given the inability of the NFL and NFLPA to agree on anything right now), Smith disagrees with Goodell’s contention. “At no point did I reach some sort of agreement with Mr. Goodell that, in exchange for delaying the NFL’s imposition of discipline on players, the NFLPA would conduct its own investigation and share the results of that investigation with the NFL,” Smith said in a sworn statement filed with the court on Friday, a copy of which PFT has obtained.

Smith also takes advantage of the opportunity to fire another shot at the league’s overall process.

“I stressed to Mr. Goodell that it was important for the accused players and the NFLPA to have access to the League’s information, and that the information be presented so that the accused players could respond before any punishment was imposed,” Smith said. “Finally, I emphasized that transparency was important, so that if there were clear evidence of a pay-to-injure program, the NFLPA could work with the NFL to stop such behavior and ensure it never happens again. The cooperation and transparency that I requested, and that I firmly believed was in the best interest of all parties, was not provided and to date, it has never been provided.”

Taking it all one level higher, Browns linebacker Scott Fujita executed an affidavit in which he directly disputes the claim that Goodell was ready to discipline the players as of March 21. Fujita testifies that he called Goodell on “approximately” March 20, because Fujita was “disturbed that my name had been leaked in media reports concerning the NFL’s investigation.” Fujita then testifies that, during the call, “Goodell told me he would be coming down hard with punishments on the Saints coaches, but that with respect to Saints players, he was not quite sure what he had on them, and that player punishments therefore would take some time.”

In other words, the NFLPA believes that Goodell’s sworn statement was unintentionally inaccurate, at best."

Smith, Fujita dispute Goodell’s sworn statement on March 21 issue | ProFootballTalk



In the NFL's submission to the judge yesterday, Goodell states that AFTER he sent the letter on 3/14 to the NFLPA to deny the request to delay the punishments... he and Smith talked on the phone a few days later to agree to delay the punishments.

Smith is essentially denying that this supposed "phone call" happened. I knew that would happend......

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Right, but you do realize this has everything in the world to do with two of our players missing games, right? That one of them is for the entire year, right?

Okay, just making sure. You don't have to read those stories. I don't read every story on here. Read the stories that interest you.

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

Hmm... Well now it at least makes some sense to me. It just seems like the focus has shifted more toward this matter than the original reason of the lawsuit. I can see now how this might help the players, but I am also curious as to what the judge thinks of the so-called evidence provided by the NFL about the bounties, and not just some letter asking for a delay.

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

If I remember correctly, she said the evidence is "borderline ridiculous".

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Goodall is simply an ass hat

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

This is what Roger is banking on, or at least WAS banking on. I absolutely believe he thought he could hammer the Saints, that there would be an outcry of injustice, and that people would eventually just move past it once Football started - that we would be distracted. With this as his plan, he figured he could lower the boom on us, attempting to show the world that the NFL truly cares about player safety, and ultimately suffer no consequences because we'd be pacified with the game soon enough.

It hasn't worked out that way, and I'm proud of everyone who chose not to give in. This, in my humble opinion, is a serious (and I do mean serious) injustice, and violation of his required fairness, and a deplorable violation of his office. It is an abuse of power if there was ever such a thing. He has leveraged the office he holds against the people he is supposed to oversee in a fair and impartial way, and his motivation is money. Period.

Thankfully, Vilma saw this from the beginning and has chosen to stick his neck out to expose Roger and his agenda, and so far so good. A man simply cannot be allowed to behave as Roger has...not in America. A man cannot be allowed to get it SO WRONG, on PURPOSE, and destroy another man's career and reputation.

No. I say keep the bounty stories coming. Attack Roger from every conceivable angle until justice is done. Vilma, and for that matter every other player in the league, because they are equally at risk, should fight Roger all the way to a strike if necessary, and us fans should be willing to tolerate it in the interest of removing Roger from power. Some things are just right or wrong. This is wrong. It's WAY wrong, and I'm not willing to watch Roger destroy another man because he wants to influence the public and a jury.

Nope. Roger can go to hell. Whatever it takes. As long as it takes. Collateral damage be damned unfortunately, even if that were to mean missing out on some football for a while.

Re: NFL Files "evidence" today
 

Well I hope she said that. Because she would be quite right.

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Goodell is an ass wipe!

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

What's really a headscratcher is this...

By stating that he was ready to hand down the hammer in March and obliged D Smith to wait till later, he still stating he had his mind made up; one of contentions of the Vilma Camp is that because his mind was made up then, he could not act impartially should Mr. Vilma and his counsel raise valid scrutiny of the evidence presented to Jon Vilma at his kangaroo Court...

Re: NFL files evidence backing Goodell in Saints bounty case
 

Academics frequently miss the obvious. :argue: