saintsfan1976

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

halloween 65

I hope Goodell goes down in flames.

QBREES9

He will.

burningmetal

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.

WhoDat!656

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

TheOak

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


Goodell/NFL

iWho_Dat

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!

Tobias-Reiper

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.

'Cause the simple man pays the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill

SaintsBro

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.

Rugby Saint II

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