Saints coach should be freed, too
 

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

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

The tide is turning! The winds have shifted! Pick whichever metaphor you like but this article is awesome!

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

Different situation...

The suspensions are going to happen just not this week. Once Commish decides which umbrella the 'crimes' committed then it will move forward. I suspect he is going to claim detriment to the game so that his penalties stick.

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

Love this:

"The problem was, the facts were always fuzzy, the evidence never fully revealed. And it all felt a little too convenient. In an offseason where all anybody seemed to be talking about was player health and brain injuries, Bountygate gave Goodell a bully pulpit from which to preach the gospel of personal responsibility."

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

More like a pulpit to preach the gospel of "Please don't sue us! Oh please, oh please, oh please......"

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

He needs to play it safe from this point out. If he's got evidence that he hasn't revealed, he needs to make it public, and bring down the ginger hammer again, if not, he needs to walk away from this now.

If he faces another defeat in court or in an internal appeals hearing, this whole bountygate scandal could serve as further evidence that the league does NOT, in fact, know how to police itself when it comes to matters of player safety.

That won't look good in the former player's concussions suit against the NFL.

Saints coach should be freed, too
 

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.

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

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

I would almost prefer for them to go ahead and get their suspensions over with now rather than later in the season when we are on a role. It could really mess with momentum if we have to pull them out mid season.

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

This whole fiasco has already bit Roger in the ass. I believe his biggest miscalculation was Vilma. He's been getting away with being heavy-handed for so long. He never planned for the possibility that Jon would take his red ass to court.

Now the whole thing has come unraveled on Roger. His end game was to show the world how the NFL cares. All he has ultimately managed to do is to show the world how the NFL power structure is tilted so heavily (and unfairly) against the people who make the game what it is - and that's the players.

Roger's agenda is over. Anything he tries to do from here on out is purely an effort to save face. He can no longer accomplish the guise on the Fans and on America he was so interested in.

You're done Roger. No matter where it goes from here. Do the right thing for the players, for the league, and for that matter for you. Just drop it. Recognize you're power has been effectively limited. Deal with that and move on.

Re: Saints coach should be freed, too
 

I think by having the replacement officials has already proven they are not too much for safety.