Saints Players Penalties Handed Down

-LB Jonathan Vilma - Suspended for the entire 2012 season.

-DE Will Smith, suspended for first four regular-season games. May participate in offseason activity, including preseason games.

-DL Anthony Hargrove (now with the Packers), suspended for first eight regular-season games. May participate in offseason activity, including preseason games.

-LB Scott Fujita (now with the Browns), suspended for first three regular-season games. May participate in offseason activity, including preseason games.

Too severe? Too lenient? Just about right?

Must admit, after reading Vilma and Smith's own statements and after seeing the underhand way in which "justice" was handed down on the Redskins and Cowboys for supposedly breaking salary cap rules that didn't exist, I'm really starting to doubt that the NFL's disciplinary procedures are all that they should be. I'm concerned that the Commisioner appears to have so much power in all these disciplinary matters which in turn leaves the entire process open to decisions being made that reflect his own ideals and aspirations and those of his favoured people amongst the League's ownership.

If the players really are guilty as charged then they should have few complaints over the penalties but like I say, I have my reservations over the validity of the whole process here and whether it is as fair and as impartial as it should be.

vilma dont matter
Hawthorne is better

Number-25 wrote:If the players really are guilty as charged then they should have few complaints over the penalties but like I say, I have my reservations over the validity of the whole process here and whether it is as fair and as impartial as it should be.

Didn't the league investigation find him guilty of offering the $10,000 to however got Favre out of the 2009 NFC championship game?

Surprised Fujita was involved as he's one of the NFLPA representatives and seems to be pretty focused on player safety, but if he was then we can't complain about his ban, hopefully he'll be capable of playing the 13 other games.

Would be interesting to know the reasons for the bans ranging from 3 weeks to the whole season.

Typically hypocritical by Goodell.
$10K "bounty" is peanuts to most of these guys. About what Goodell penalises them if they knock someone's block off and send him to the IR for the rest of the season.
And who do Vilma and the rest get to appeal to? Goodell of course.

Violence begets violence, not $10K bounties.

Meanwhile, the suicide rate and reduced life span of the NFL veteran should be making the headlines. Easterling and Seau just the latest in a sad, lengthening list.

What is it, EIGHT of the Chargers Super Bowl squad of 1995 are toast?

Hardly surprising.

Derbyblue wrote:

Number-25 wrote:If the players really are guilty as charged then they should have few complaints over the penalties but like I say, I have my reservations over the validity of the whole process here and whether it is as fair and as impartial as it should be.

Didn't the league investigation find him guilty of offering the $10,000 to however got Favre out of the 2009 NFC championship game?

They did, however he still denies it. My take on this when it first broke was that these guys deserved all they got. However, since then, the league has also found the Redskins and Cowboys guilty of breaking salary cap rules that didn't exist, which really opened my eyes to the fact that this administration appears to be capable of finding you guilty of anything if it really wants to. That case proved that they don't even need rules or to even have a coherent case to find you guilty of something. All they need is to want you to be guilty. If Vilma says he's innocent then that's probably something worth listening to given the form of the League lately in disciplinary matters. There is zero transparency here and one man has too much ultimate power.