NFL Players Owe Thanks To Bounty ‘Snitches’
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By DERON SNYDER
The NFL came down hard on the New Orleans Saints for their illegal bounty program, suspending coach Sean Peyton for the upcoming season, fining the team $500,000 and snatching two second-round draft picks. The league is weighing the penalties for players such as Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who reportedly offered $10,000 to any teammate who knocked Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship Game in 2010.
“Discipline for individual players involved in the Saints’ prohibited program continues to be under review with the NFL Players Association and will be addressed by Commissioner Goodell at a later date,” the league said in a statement. “The program included ‘bounty’ payments for ‘knock-outs’ and ‘cart-offs,’ plays on which an opposing player was forced to leave the game. At times, the bounties even targeted specific players by name.”
In addition to Favre, according to the NFL’s investigation, quarterbacks Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers and Kurt Warner also were targeted by name.
I suppose that those men and their families are thankful for the whistleblowers in “Bountygate.” I imagine that other opposing players and their families are grateful for the informants who came forward. I suspect that Saints players and their families would feel likewise if sources had exposed the scandal on another team.
Anyone who cares about the life and limbs of targeted players is thankful for the “snitches” — not that the derogatory term is appropriate or appreciated. Unless you’re a proponent of criminal activity, gangster ethics and witness intimidation, the word has no business in your vocabulary.
