WhoDat!656

Free Sean Payton.

Or at least be real about why he’s really being punished.

The New Orleans Saints coach was suspended for all of this season because, we were told, he failed to stop a “bounty program,” a program that allegedly paid players for injuring opponents, a program that tore at the basic contract of the game.

All of this had been swallowed as gospel until an independent arbitration panel on Friday determined that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had overstepped his bounds in his sweeping punishment of players allegedly involved in this nefariousness.

What the panel told Goodell was:

• Your dictatorship authority with sweeping punitive power only applies if this is a conduct detrimental issue, not a salary-cap issue.

• Feel free to discipline them on conduct detrimental, just know you have to have evidence of intent to injure beyond dollars on a board.

• Get back to us, if you have all of this. And proof.

With bountygate players' suspensions lifted, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton's punishment should be, too - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

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