BOUNTIES VS CHEATERS!
Your thoughts.......Sean Payton's punishment for bounties VS Belichick"s punishment for cheating a few years ago......
Belichick draws $500,000 fine, but avoids suspension
Updated: September 14, 2007, 10:16 AM ET
ESPN.com news services
NEW YORK --
New England Patriots
coach Bill Belichick was fined the NFL maximum of $500,000 Thursday and
the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000 for spying on an opponent's
defensive signals.
Commissioner Roger Goodell also ordered the team to give up its
first-round draft choice next year if it reaches the playoffs this
season, or its
second- and third-round picks if it misses the postseason.
"This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to
avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote
honest competition on the playing field," Goodell said in a letter to
the Patriots.
The videotaping came to light after a camera was confiscated from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella while he was on the
New York Jets' sideline during New England's 38-14 win last Sunday at Giants Stadium. Goodell will not change the outcome of the game.
Goodell said he had considered suspending Belichick but didn't "largely
because I believe that the discipline I am imposing of a
maximum fine and forfeiture of a first-round draft choice, or multiple
draft choices, is in fact more significant and long-lasting, and
therefore more effective, than a suspension."
| Clayton: Penalty Too Light |
|---|
|
Bill Belichick and his team deserved a much stiffer penalty than the fines and loss of picks they got for spying on the Jets.
Story
|
Instead, Goodell imposed the biggest fine ever on a coach --
it represents 12 percent of Belichick's scheduled 2007 salary, which is
believed to be $4.2 million -- and took away a first-round draft pick as
a penalty for the first time in NFL history.
Reached at his home, Patriots owner Robert Kraft declined to comment.
Belichick, however, accepted full responsibility "for the actions that
led to tonight's ruling. Once again, I apologize to the Kraft family and
every person directly or indirectly associated with the New England
Patriots for the embarrassment, distraction and penalty my mistake
caused."
"I also apologize to Patriots fans and would like to thank them for
their support during the past few days and throughout my
career," Belichick said in a statement issued by the team. "As the
commissioner acknowledged, our use of sideline video had no impact on
the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to
obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress."
I apologize to the Kraft family and every person directly or indirectly
associated with the New England Patriots for the embarrassment,
distraction and penalty my mistake caused.
-- Bill Belichick
Goodell's hard line on discipline has been aimed so far at players -- most notably
Michael Vick and
Adam "Pacman" Jones.
By penalizing a coach and a team he showed that no one, not even management, was immune.
"We support the commissioner and his findings," the Jets said.
New England, strengthened by the addition of
Randy Moss, two other first-rate wide receivers and linebacker
Adalius Thomas,
is considered one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl for the fourth
time since the 2001 season. If the Patriots lose their first-rounder
next season they still will have a first-round pick, obtained from San
Francisco in the deal that brought Moss from Oakland.
NFL rules state "no video recording devices of any kind are permitted to
be in use in the coaches' booth, on the field, or in the locker room
during the game." They also say all video for coaching purposes must be
shot from locations "enclosed on all sides with a roof overhead."
That was re-emphasized in a memo sent Sept. 6 to NFL head coaches
and general managers. In it, Ray Anderson, the league's
executive vice president of football operations, wrote:"Videotaping of
any type, including but not limited to taping of an opponent's
offensive or defensive signals, is prohibited on the
sidelines, in the coaches' booth, in the locker room or at any other
locations accessible to club staff members during the game."
The NFL statement said Goodell believed Kraft was unaware of Belichick's actions.
But it said the commissioner believed penalties should be imposed on
the club because "Coach Belichick not only serves as
the head coach but also has substantial control over all aspects of New
England's football operations. His actions and decisions are
properly attributed to the club."
On Wednesday, Belichick
issued a one-paragraph statement 10 minutes before his regular
availability, saying he had spoken with
Goodell "about a videotaping procedure during last Sunday's game and my
interpretation of the rules."
"Although it remains a league
matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected, most of
all ownership, staff and
players," he said.
The Patriots have been caught once before.
Last November, during their 35-0 victory in Green Bay, the Packers
caught Estrella
shooting unauthorized video and told him to stop.
NFL coaches
long have suspected opponents of spying. In the early 1970s, the late
George Allen, coach of the Washington
Redskins, routinely would send a security man into the woods surrounding
the team's practice facility because he suspected there were spies from
other teams there.
And coaches like Seattle's Mike Holmgren
and Philadelphia's Andy Reid, among others, always cover their mouths
when calling plays from the sideline because they fear other teams have
lip readers trying to determine their calls.
The most recent
hefty fine against a coach was in 2005, when Tagliabue fined former
Minnesota coach Mike Tice $100,000 for scalping Super Bowl tickets.
Last November, Goodell fined Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher,
co-chairman of the competition committee, $12,500 for criticizing
officials. He also fined Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, one of his mentors
and the man who informed him he had been elected commissioner, for the
same violation.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer John Clayton was used in this report.
Saints coach suspended for season over bounties
By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Pro Football Writer
–
1 day ago
The New Orleans Saints' crush-for-cash bounty system already cost
them head coach Sean Payton for all of next season and general manager
Mickey Loomis for half of it, plus two second-round draft picks and a
$500,000 fine.
Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams,
who oversaw and contributed money to the illegal fund, was suspended
indefinitely.
Unforgiving and unprecedented penalties Wednesday
from an NFL determined to rid its sport of hits that aim to knock
opponents out of a game.
Now Commissioner Roger Goodell will turn
his attention to possible punishments for two dozen or so defensive
players the league's investigation found were involved in the extra
payouts that he called "particularly unusual and egregious" and "totally
unacceptable."
"We are all accountable and responsible for player
health and safety and the integrity of the game. We will not tolerate
conduct or a culture that undermines those priorities," said Goodell,
whose league faces more than 20 concussion-related lawsuits brought by
hundreds of former players. "No one is above the game or the rules that
govern it."
The league is reviewing the case with the NFL Players
Association before deciding what to do about players who were part of
the Saints' scheme from 2009-11.
"While I will not address player
conduct at this time, I am profoundly troubled by the fact that players —
including leaders among the defensive players — embraced this program
so enthusiastically and participated with what appears to have been a
deliberate lack of concern for the well-being of their fellow players,"
Goodell said.
Targeted players included quarterbacks Aaron
Rodgers, Cam Newton, Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. "Knockouts" were worth
$1,500 and "cart-offs" $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the
playoffs.
According to the league, Saints defensive captain
Jonathan Vilma offered $10,000 to any player who knocked then-Vikings QB
Favre out of the 2010 NFC championship game. The Saints were flagged
for roughing Favre twice in that game, and the league later said they
should have received another penalty for a brutal high-low hit from Remi
Ayodele and Bobby McCray that hurt Favre's ankle. He was able to finish
the game, but the Saints won in overtime en route to the franchise's
only Super Bowl.
"The bounty thing is completely unprofessional.
I'm happy the league has made it known it won't be tolerated," said left
tackle Jordan Gross, Newton's teammate on the Carolina Panthers. "To
think that something like that would happen — guys trying to hurt
someone to make a few extra bucks — is just appalling. I mean we have a
lot on the line, every single one of us. ... You don't want to see
anyone taken out a game."
All payouts for specific performances in
a game, including interceptions or causing fumbles, are against NFL
rules. The NFL warns teams against such practices before each season,
although in the aftermath of the revelations about the Saints, current
and former players from various teams talked about that sort of thing
happening frequently — just not on the same scale as was found in New
Orleans.
In a memo to the NFL's 32 teams, Goodell ordered owners
to make sure their clubs are not offering bounties now. Each club's
principal owner and head coach must certify in writing by March 30 that
no pay-for-performance system exists.
Payton is the first head
coach suspended by the league for any reason, while Loomis is believed
to be the only GM to be. Goodell also suspended assistant coach Joe Vitt
for the first six games.
Payton, whose salary this season was to
be at least $6 million, ignored instructions from the NFL and Saints
ownership to make sure bounties weren't being paid. The league also
chastised him for choosing to "falsely deny that the program existed,"
and for trying to "encourage the false denials by instructing assistants
to 'make sure our ducks are in a row.'"
All in all, Goodell's
ruling is a real blow to the Saints, a franchise that Payton and
quarterback Drew Brees revived and led to an NFL championship after
decades of such futility that fans wore paper bags over their heads at
home games.
Brees reacted quickly to the news on Twitter, writing:
"I am speechless. Sean Payton is a great man, coach, and mentor. ... I
need to hear an explanation for this punishment."
The Saints now
must decide who will coach the team in Payton's place — his suspension
takes effect April 1 — and who will make roster moves while Loomis is
out. There was no immediate word from the Saints, but two candidates to
take over coaching duties are defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and
offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. Spagnuolo has NFL head
coaching experience; Carmichael does not, but has been with the club
since 2006.
When the NFL first made its investigation public on
March 2, Williams admitted to — and apologized for — running the program
while in charge of the Saints' defense. He was hired in January by the
St. Louis Rams; head coach Jeff Fisher said Wednesday he'll probably use
a committee of coaches to replace Williams in 2012.
Goodell will review Williams' status after the upcoming season and decide whether he can return.
"I
accept full responsibility for my actions," Williams said in a
statement issued by the Rams. "I will continue to cooperate fully with
the league and its investigation and ... I will do everything possible
to re-earn the respect of my colleagues, the NFL and its players in
hopes of returning to coaching in the future."
While some players
who played for Williams elsewhere said he oversaw bounty systems there,
too, the league said its interviews didn't find evidence that "programs
at other clubs involved targeting opposing players or rewarding players
for injuring an opponent." But Goodell could re-open the case if new
information emerges.
After the NFL made clear that punishments for
the Saints were looming, Payton and Loomis took the blame for
violations that they acknowledged "happened under our watch" and said
club owner Tom Benson "had nothing to do" with the bounty pool, which
reached as much as $50,000 during the season New Orleans won its
championship.
The discipline for the Saints' involvement in the
bounty scheme is more far-reaching and harsh than what Goodell came up
with in 2007, when the New England Patriots cheated by videotaping an
opponent. Goodell fined the Patriots $250,000, stripped a first-round
draft pick, and docked their coach, Bill Belichick, $500,000 for what
was known as "Spygate."
Clearly, Goodell decided that attempts to hide the bounties were as significant a breach as the original rules violation itself.
As
recently as this year, Payton said he was entirely unaware of the
bounties — "a claim contradicted by others," the league said. And
according to the investigation, Payton received an email before the
Saints' first game in 2011 that read, "PS Greg Williams put me down for
$5000 on Rogers (sic)." When Payton was shown that email by NFL
investigators, he acknowledged it referred to a bounty on Rodgers, whose
Packers beat the Saints in Week 1.
The league said that in
addition to contributing money to the bounty fund, Williams oversaw
record-keeping, determined payout amounts and recipients, and handed out
envelopes with money to players. The NFL said Williams acknowledged he
intentionally misled NFL investigators when first questioned in 2010,
and didn't try to stop the bounties.
Vitt was aware of the
bounties and, according to the league, later admitted he had "fabricated
the truth" when interviewed in 2010.
Loomis knew of the bounty
allegations at least by February 2010, when he was told by the league to
end the practice. But the NFL said he later admitted he didn't do
enough to determine if there were bounties or to try to stop them.
___
AP Sports Writers Steve Reed, Brett Martel, R.B. Fallstrom and Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report.
And then the sky's opened up! And I had hope again! 
