NFL Seeks A Kinder, Gentler Version Of Itself
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Cris Carter
By DERON SNYDER
They have been part of football for as long as the game has been played. They have ridden the evolutionary wave from leather helmets and single wings to polyurethane shells and four wide. They have been so ingrained in the culture that no one gave them a second look.
Until recently. Now the NFL is in a new-age bind thanks to those age-old truths — bounties and concussions.
After accepting them with winks and nods all these years, the league has launched an all-out assault to eliminate them.
It’s the right thing to do, even though it appears self-serving and hypocritical to some critics. New Orleans Saints fans, in particular, contend that their team was unfairly punished for a “bounty” program that has existed on some level throughout football. On Tuesday, we learned that offensive players could be as guilty as defensive players.
Former All-Pro receiver Cris Carter said he used the measure to protect himself during his 16-year NFL career. “First time I’ve ever admitted it, but I put a bounty on guys before,” Carter said on ESPN’s Hill & Schlereth Show. “… If a guy tries to take me out, a guy takes a cheap shot on me? I put a bounty on him right now!”
