New Orleans Saints: Bounty Hunters

The NFL has announced that they are looking into reports that the New Orleans Saints were running a bounty program which they would receive gifts or bonuses for injuring other players. This has been going one for the past few seasons, and all the coaches on the team knew about this. Players should not be rewarded for injuring people, but many NFL analysts say that it is a very common thing.

Here is a qoute from SI.com's Michael McCann "The New Orleans Saints and their players, coaches and front office personnel are likely to receive harsh sanctions from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for the dangerous bounty system they employed over the last few seasons. Lengthy suspensions, hefty fines and forfeiture of draft picks are all on the table. Their real worries, however, may come in court rooms, as the bounty system arguably broke the law." According to Lousiana state law, the bounty program violates two laws, conspiracy and battery. Coaches could face court time very soon, as well as certain players if enough evidence is provided. NFL Insider Adam Schefter tweeted that the punishment handed down by the league will be much more severe then when the Patriots were caught spying on other teams. The Patriots had to forfeit a first round pick, but the Saints will probably face suspensions, fines, draft picks being revoked, and other consequences. It it not surprising to me that players get rewarded for hurting other players, but the fact that there was a huge system in the Saints organization is bad. This is not only a negative message for the fans, but all football players around the world. Many players go on the field solely to injure and hurt players, but this is their choice and they are not rewarded for it. I expect the Saints to pay heavily, and the main assistant coach behind this, Greg Williams, will most likely be fired. Also, head coach Sean Payton and general manager Micky Loomis reportedly knew about this, so they too could face some discipline. Since Concussions are becoming more and more focused on in sports, this is bad news, but hopefully it can be stopped. I hope that this does not lead to a domino effect of bounty programs being uncovered, including in the college ranks.