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Sources: Jonathan Vilma offered deal

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  • Sources: Jonathan Vilma offered deal

    The NFL has offered to reduce New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma's year-long suspension to eight games as part of ongoing settlement talks involving the league, the NFL Players Association and legal representatives for the four players who were suspended for their alleged participation in the team's bounty program from 2009-2011, according to sources familiar with the discussions.


    The league's offer was made late last week but it is conditional upon Vilma dropping a civil lawsuit charging commissioner Roger Goodell with defamation of character, sources said. Vilma has expressed his strong feelings about his tainted reputation.



    Saints Bounty Scandal
    An NFL investigation found that the New Orleans Saints operated a bounty system rewarding between 22 and 27 players for hard hits and injuring opposing players. Profile ยป

    The talks could also lead to reductions in the suspensions of the other three players -- Saints defensive end Will Smith (four games), Packers defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove (eight games), and Browns linebacker Scott Fujita (three games).

    Settlement talks are expected to continue Monday and sources say that Friday's next scheduled appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Ginger Berrigan could serve as a soft deadline to reach a settlement. The two sides filed more arguments in the Louisiana court this past Friday in advance of this week's hearing.


    The original hearing was conducted on July 26th as Judge Berrigan was deciding on whether to grant a temporary restraining order on behalf of the four players who were suspended by Goodell.


    Judge Berrigan expressed concerns about Goodell's actions during the first hearing in which seven members of the Saints testified that they never witnessed Vilma offering $10,000 to any teammate who injured opposing quarterbacks Kurt Warner and Brett Favre in the 2009-2010 playoffs. Those who testified also denied there was a pay-to-injure bounty program, including Saints interim head coach Joe Vitt, who will serve his own six-game suspension to open the season.


    While sources said league attorneys have urged Goodell to offer reductions in the suspensions as a settlement, a league official reiterated Goodell's position that if the players had participated fully in the appeals process, the commissioner may have reduced the penalties as he has with other players who have been disciplined in other cases. The league official also noted that the current legal proceeding began with a settlement conference.


    Saints owner Tom Benson has privately expressed his displeasure with Goodell on the severity of the sanctions that hit the franchise, including a year-long suspension of head coach Sean Payton and an eight-game suspension of general manager Mickey Loomis, according to sources.


    Payton and Loomis are not part of the legal proceedings that are currently active in federal court. A source speculated that if the federal judge rules in favor of the players then Benson could push for Goodell to consider a reduction in Payton's suspension. A team source downplayed that scenario.


    The Saints opened their preseason slate with a 17-10 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night.

    When asked his thoughts about the possibility of a reduced suspension for Vilma, New Orleans safety Malcolm Jenkins said it'd be "huge" for both the veteran linebacker and the rest of the league's players.

    "I think it would be a huge victory especially for Jon and for the NFL -- the players to finally kind of show a little bit of power."

    Offensive tackle Zach Strief said it's been tough to watch Vilma go through the process.

    "The hardest thing going through this process is seeing a guy, you know what kind of person he is, kinda be dragged through the mud like that," Strief said.

    Veteran safety Roman Harper added that Vilma's "fighting for who he is, it's all about his family name and all the great things that he's done on and off the field and I back him 100 percent and I know the truth and we all know that he's doing what he needs to do."

    By Ed Werder, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen
    Trading for all Cleveland teams in Cleveland uniforms, Cleveland minor league affiliates & Columbus Bluejackets

  • #2
    The bounty program was wrong. What this amounts to now is blackmail. We'll let you play but you have to drop your lawsuit first. The league must be feeling some serious guilt here and wants to avoid a lawsuit.

    There should be term limits for commissioners of every sport. Stern, Selig and Goodell have been in office for far too long. They've all lost sight of the big picture and their objectivity.

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    • #3
      I agree jwgreen68
      I collect mainly football these days, Maurice Jones Drew, Joe Flacco, Matt Forte, DeMarco Murray, Patrick Willis, Emmitt Smith and 1974 Topps. Baseball Derek Jeter. Basketball Kevin Garnett. Non Sports James Bond, Star Wars, Tomb Raider.

      http://s801.photobucket.com/albums/yy291/bakemeister52/

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