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Tagliabue vacates players' bounty penalties
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned the suspensions of four current and former New Orleans Saints players in the league's bounty investigation of the club.
Tagliabue, however, found that three of the players engaged in conduct detrimental to the league. He said they participated in a performance pool that rewarded key plays -- including hard tackles -- that could merit fines. And Tagliabue stressed that the team's coaches were very much involved.
"Unlike Saints' broad organizational misconduct, player appeals involve sharply focused issues of alleged individual player misconduct in several different aspects," said a portion of the ruling released by the NFL. "My affirmation of Commissioner Goodell's findings could certainly justify the issuance of fines. However, this entire case has been contaminated by the coaches and others in the Saints' organization."
Tagliabue was appointed by his successor, Roger Goodell, to handle a second round of player appeals to the league in connection with the Saints' cash-for-hits program run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from 2009-2011. The players initially opposed his appointment.
Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma had been given a full-season suspension, while defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove each received shorter suspensions.
Fujita was the only player cleared of conduct detrimental to the league by Tagliabue.
Vilma's attorney, Peter Ginsberg, said in a statement that his client was pleased that his suspension was lifted but that he still intends to clear his name. Vilma is pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Goodell in federal court.
"We are obviously relieved and gratified that Jonathan no longer needs to worry about facing an unjustified suspension. On the other hand, Commissioner Tagliabue's rationalization of Commissioner Goodell's actions does nothing to rectify the harm done by the baseless allegations lodged against Jonathan," Ginsberg said.
"Jonathan has a right and every intention to pursue proving what really occurred and we look forward to returning to a public forum where the true facts can see the light of day," he said. "We call upon Commissioner Tagliabue to release the transcripts of the proceedings held before him so that they are available as we go forward."
The NFL said Tuesday afternoon that it respected Tagliabue's decision.
"We respect Mr. Tagliabue's decision, which underscores the due process afforded players in NFL disciplinary matters. This matter has now been reviewed by Commissioner Goodell, two CBA grievance arbitrators, the CBA Appeals Panel, and Mr. Tagliabue as Commissioner Goodell's designated appeals officer.
"The decisions have made clear that the Saints operated a bounty program in violation of league rules for three years, that the program endangered player safety, and that the commissioner has the authority under the CBA to impose discipline for those actions as conduct detrimental to the league.
"Strong action was taken in this matter to protect player safety and ensure that bounties would be eliminated from football."
Saints quarterback Drew Brees tweeted his congratulations to his vindicated current and former teammates.
"Congratulations to our players for having the suspensions vacated. Unfortunately, there are some things that can never be taken back," he wrote.
The Steelers' Ryan Clark, who has been an outspoken critic of Goodell, celebrated Tagliabue's ruling in a tweet.
"Good old Paul Tagliabue!! Lol!! I love it. All I can say is I love it. Carry on," he wrote
None of the players sat out any games because of suspensions. They have been allowed to play while appeals are pending, though Fujita is on injured reserve and Hargrove is not with a team.
Shortly before the regular season, the initial suspensions were thrown out by an appeals panel created by the league's collective bargaining agreement. Goodell then reissued them, with some changes, and now those have been dismissed.
Meanwhile, the players have challenged the NFL's handling of the entire process in federal court, but U.S District Judge Ginger Berrigan had been waiting to see how the latest round of appeals played out before deciding whether to get involved.
With the player suspensions overturned, the end of a nearly 10-month dispute over how the NFL handled an investigation that covered three seasons and gathered about 50,000 pages of documents could be near.
NFL investigators found that Vilma and Smith were ringleaders of a cash-for-hits program that rewarded injurious tackles labeled as "cart-offs" and "knockouts." The NFL also concluded that Hargrove lied to NFL investigators to help cover up the program.
Goodell also suspended Williams indefinitely, while banning Saints head coach Sean Payton for a full season.
Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended for the first eight games of the season and assistant coach Joe Vitt, who is serving as interim coach during Payton's ban, was suspended for the first six games.
Tagliabue's ruling comes after a new round of hearings that for the first time allowed Vilma's attorneys and the NFL Players Association, which represents the other three players, to cross-examine key NFL witnesses in the probe. Those witnesses included Williams and former Saints assistant Mike Cerullo, who was fired after the 2009 season and whose email to the league, accusing the Saints of being "a dirty organization," jump-started the probe.
Source: AP