ESPN' Adam Schefter has just reported that a three-man arbitration panel has overturned NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's suspensions of four players stemming off the bounty scandal from earlier this year. Saints players Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith, Browns player Scott Fujita, and free agent Anthony Hargrove have been freed effective immediately. The panel said that Goodell has overstepped his power by issuing the suspensions. But what does that mean, and what does this ruling mean for future Goodell punishments?
The Saints bounty scandal, brought to the public eye in March, accused former Saints defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, of organizing a bounty pool before each game that included getting paid for performance and for taking out opposing players, although there is no proof of the latter. Williams did this from 2009-2011. The NFL began the investigation in 2010 and finally announced that it had sufficient evidence that Williams had indeed orchestrated a bounty program that multiple Saints defenders were in on each week. Goodell and the NFL said that the program paid players to injure opponents, which is why such harsh suspensions were handed down to the people involved. There was a tape of Williams released in which you hear him raving like a lunatic at his defense and saying things like 'go for the ACL.' However, Williams and multiple members of the Saints defense say it was only performance based, which is also illegal in the NFL but is nothing like putting bounties on opposing players. Goodell, nonetheless, brought the hammer down suspending Williams indefinitely, Saints head coach Sean Payton for the 2012 season, Saints GM Mickey Loomis for eight games, and Saints linebackers coach/interim head coach Joe Vitt for six. On the players side, Vilma was suspended for the 2012 season, Hargrove for half the 2012 season, Smith for four games, and Fujita for three.
Everyone suspended first appealed their suspensions to the NFL, which means they got to talk to Goodell because he is the NFL appeal process. Goodell upheld all his suspensions, logically, but the players were not satisfied. All four players, with the backing of the players' association, sued Goodell saying he overstepped is power in handing out the suspensions. The players argued that he had no evidence of what he claimed happened and that any evidence he did have was not be shown to them. Goodell initially won the case, but the players appealed, which brings up back to today's ruling.
By saying that Goodell overstepped is power, the panel agrees with the players in that there was not enough, or no, evidence to support the claim that the players for part of a pay-to-injure bounty program. The panel also said that Goodell could reconsider the punishment if evidence does surface of a pay-to-injure program. Goodell can still punish the players in other ways by participating in the illegal performance-bonus system, though.
This ruling will likely not mean much for future Goodell punishments. In this particular case, Goodell merely jumped the gun and handed out suspensions before he got the evidence needed to do so. If anything, this ruling shows that Goodell cannot do whatever he deems fit as commissioner and that there are certain boundaries he can overstep. Goodell should have learned to be more diligent with his investigations in the future and not act just because an act is needed. Just like in real world law and order, Goodell cannot do anything without proper evidence. You are innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Goodell of all people should have known that.
References
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8349080/sources-suspensions-jonathan-vilma-smith-scott-fujita-anthony-hargrove-overturned-arbitration-panel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Saints_bounty_scandal#Findings_revealed
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/new-orleans-saints-bounty-case-appeal-players-jonathan-vilma-suspensions-overturned-anthony-hargrove-will-smith-090712
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