NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and the NFL players union left little doubt they remain determined to challenge
Commissioner Roger Goodell's authority to suspend players in connection with the league's bounty investigation of the New
Orleans Saints.
Goodell ruled Tuesday that Vilma, a
linebacker, would remain suspended for the season, while Smith, a
defensive end, still
would face a four-game ban. The two players, among four who've
been wrangling for months with the league, scoffed at the commissioner's
latest decision.
Vilma said on Twitter that the new ruling "is not news to me pride won't let him admit he's wrong." Smith issued a statement
saying he will continue to explore his appeal options.
Vilma's attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said in a
statement that Goodell's new ruling "continues his previous grossly
misplaced
interpretation of the 'evidence.' What the Commissioner did today
is not justice, nor just. The suspension has the fingerprints
of lawyers trying to fit a square peg into a round hole."
The stakes are now somewhat lower for defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove and Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita. Hargrove's
suspension effectively stands at two games after Goodell reduced his eight-game ban to seven and gave him credit for five
games missed while he was a free agent. Goodell lowered Fujita's suspension from three games to one.
Hargrove and Fujita did not respond to requests for comment, but the NFL Players Association, which has been representing
them, remained critical of Goodell's decision to punish the players and the process by which he reached his decisions.
"For more than six months, the NFL has
ignored the facts, abused the process outlined in our collective
bargaining agreement
and failed to produce evidence that the players intended to injure
anyone, ever," the NFLPA said in a written statement. "The
only evidence that exists is the League's gross violation of fair
due process, transparency and impartiality during this process.
Truth and fairness have been the casualties of the league's
refusal to admit that it might have made a mistake."
The players were implicated in what the NFL
said was a bounty pool run by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg
Williams
and paid improper cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents.
The players have acknowledged a pool, but denied they intended
to injure anyone.
Williams, now with St. Louis, has been
suspended indefinitely. Saints head coach Sean Payton is serving a full
season suspension,
while general manager Mickey Loomis is suspended eight games and
assistant head coach Joe Vitt six. The Saints, a playoff
team the past three seasons, have opened this season 1-4.
The initial player suspensions were vacated during Week 1 of the regular season by an appeal panel created by the league's
labor agreement.
The players can delay their new suspensions by appealing again through their labor contract. They could also ask a federal
judge in New Orleans to revisit their earlier request for an injunction blocking the suspensions.
Goodell, meanwhile, stood by the substance of the investigation that began three years ago.
"The quality, specificity and scope of the evidence supporting the findings of conduct detrimental (to the game) are far greater
and more extensive than ordinarily available," Goodell said in a memorandum to the 32 clubs.
The panel that vacated Goodell's initial
disciplinary decision did not address the merits of the league's
investigation. It
asked Goodell to clarify the extent to which his ruling involved
conduct detrimental to the game, which he has the sole authority
to handle, and salary cap violations resulting from bonus
payments, which would have to be ruled upon by an arbitrator other
than the commissioner.
"In my recent meetings with the players and
their counsel, the players addressed the allegations and had an
opportunity to
tell their side of the story," Goodell wrote. "In those meetings,
the players confirmed many of the key facts disclosed in
our investigation, most particularly that the program offered cash
rewards for 'cart-offs,' that players were encouraged to
'crank up the John Deere tractor' and have their opponents carted
off the field, and that rewards were offered and paid for
plays that resulted in opposing players having to leave the field
of play."
Only Smith and Fujita have played this
season. Vilma has been recovering from offseason knee surgery and hopes
to return in
two weeks when the Saints play at Tampa Bay. Goodell's new ruling
did make a financial concession to the Saints linebacker,
saying he can be paid for the six weeks he is spending on the
Saints' physically unable to perform list.
In a written statement, Smith said he remained frustrated "with the continued unilateral rulings by this commissioner as he
continues to disregard the facts and assault my character."
"I never participated in a 'pay-to-injure
program,' never took the field with intent to injure another player, and
never contributed
any money to hurt other players," Smith said. "It was my hope that
those investigating would put their arrogance and agenda
aside in order to comprehend the difference between a
'pay-for-performance program' and a 'pay-to-injure program,' but until
that day, I will continue to pursue my appeal options through the
NFLPA, and attempt to return to work for my family, teammates,
fans and the city of New Orleans."
The players declined to meet with Goodell before he made his initial disciplinary rulings in early May or during the first
appeal process.
Goodell began to reconsider his disciplinary
actions after the Sept. 7 appeal panel ruling and this time all four
players
agreed to meet with him. During those meetings the NFL produced
sworn declarations by Williams and another former defensive
assistant, Mike Cerullo, in which they stated that they observed
Vilma offering what they believed were $10,000 rewards for
knocking then-Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and then-Minnesota
quarterback Brett Favre out of 2009-10 playoff games.
Ginsberg, however, said Cerullo's and
Williams' sworn statements are not credible because they conflict with
one another on
various points. Ginsberg also said the commissioner ignored the
sworn testimony in federal court of several current and former
teammates who denied the league's accusations against Vilma.
"Commissioner Goodell has further damaged Jonathan's reputation, compromised his career, and cast an unfair cloud over a fine
and decent man," Ginsberg said. "It is unfortunate that the process exhibited by the NFL has had no decency."
Vilma has indicated previously that he would
be inclined to continue fighting his suspension before U.S. District
Judge Ginger
Berrigan. The judge has stated that she found the NFL's
disciplinary process unfair and that she would be inclined to grant
Vilma at least a temporary restraining order if she believed she
had jurisdiction on the matter.
However, Berrigan also has stated that she is hesitant to rule until she is certain the players have exhausted all possible
remedies available to them through the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.
The other three players have been represented by the NFLPA, which stated it will carefully review Goodell's latest decision
and "protect our players' rights with vigilance."
Browns linebacker Scott Fujita accused Roger Goodell of abusing his power as commissioner for his handling
of the New Orleans Saints' bounty case.
Fujita also criticized the NFL's recent record on player safety.
Fujita, who had his three-game suspension reduced to one on Tuesday by Goodell, released a statement Wednesday in which he
expressed being most angered with a letter he received from Goodell after his suspension was reduced.
Before practicing Wednesday, Fujita said in the statement that he's pleased Goodell acknowledged he never participated in
the Saints' pay-for-hits program, but did not like the content of the letter.
Goodell wrote to Fujita that he was
"surprised and disappointed by the fact that you, a former defensive
captain and a passionate
advocate for player safety, ignored such a program and permitted
it to continue. ... . If you had spoken up, perhaps other
players would have refused to participate and the consequences
with which we are now dealing could have been avoided."
A member of the NFL Players Association's executive board, Fujita, who met with Goodell on Sept. 28 in New York, was most
bothered that Goodell's "condescending tone used in his redetermination letter was neither accurate nor productive."
Fujita went on, "Additionally, I am now
purportedly being suspended for failing to confront my former defensive
coordinator
for his inappropriate use of language. This seems like an
extremely desperate attempt to punish me. I also think it sets a
dangerous precedent when players can be disciplined for not
challenging the behavior of their superiors. This is an absolute
abuse of the power that's been afforded to the Commissioner."
Fujita has not said if he will appeal his one-game suspension. The Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
On Tuesday, Goodell upheld the suspensions
of Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith and reduced penalties for Fujita and
Anthony Hargrove.
Vilma will sit out the entire season and Smith's punishment stands at four games.
Hargrove, a free agent defensive lineman, will face a two-game suspension once he signs with a team. He originally was hit
with eight games, but that was reduced to seven with five games already served.
The players were implicated in what the NFL
said was a bounty pool run by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg
Williams
and paid improper cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents.
The players have acknowledged a pool but denied they intended
to injure anyone.
Goodell's new ruling comes about a month after an appeals panel created by the NFL's labor agreement vacated the original
suspensions on technical grounds during Week 1 of the regular season. The panel informed Goodell he needed to clarify the
reasons for the punishment.
The 33-year-old Fujita has maintained his
innocence from the start of the scandal. He particularly has taken issue
with Goodell's
dealings with player safety.
"For me, the issue of player health &
safety is personal," said Fujita. "For the league and the Commissioner,
it's about perception
& liability. The Commissioner says he is disappointed in me.
The truth is, I'm disappointed in him. His positions on player
health and safety since a 2009 congressional hearing on
concussions have been inconsistent at best. He failed to acknowledge
a link between concussions & post-career brain disease, pushed
for an 18-game regular season, committed to a full season of
Thursday night games, has continually challenged players' rights
to file workers compensation claims for on-the-job injuries,
and he employed incompetent replacement officials for the start of
the 2012 season. His actions or lack thereof are by the
league's own definition, "conduct detrimental".
"My track record on the issue of player health & safety speaks for itself. And clearly, as I just listed, the Commissioner's
does too."
Fujita played four seasons in New Orleans before signing as a free agent with Cleveland in 2010.