The NFL has issued the long awaited player penalties for Bounty Gate.
Saints MLB Jonathan Vilma as expected will get hit with a year-long suspension. The Saints covered their bases by signing former Falcons MLB Curtis Lofton earlier this year.
The league concluded that as defensive captain, Vilma aided DC Gregg Williams in the implementation of the program. His suspension is effective immediately.
Other players include:
Packers DE Anthony Hargrove has been suspended for eight games.
Saints DE Will Smith has been suspended for four games.
Browns LB Scott Fujita has been suspended for three games.
All players but Vilma are allowed to participate in OTAs and pre-season games.
These are the first and final penalties in regards to the players and Bounty Gate.
The NFL’s Roger Goodell was very firm in a statement released today.
“In assessing player discipline,” Goodell said, “I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation.”
“No bounty program can exist without active player participation,” Goodell added. “The evidence clearly showed that the players being held accountable today willingly and enthusiastically embraced the bounty program. Players put the vast majority of the money into this program and they share responsibility for playing by the rules and protecting each other within those rules.”
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