Jonathan Vilma In Uphill Battle Against NFL
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By DERON SNYDER
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma has become the face of “bountygate,” the New Orleans Saints’ alleged program that rewarded players for injurious hits. No other player has been mentioned as prominently or suffered a more severe penalty (season-long suspension). But Vilma, who last month filed a defamation lawsuitagainst NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, faces a near-impossible task in clearing his name.
He received a firsthand lesson on Monday, when Goodell heard appeals from Vilma and three other players who were penalized. Goodell shared the league’s evidence with reporters, including Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who wrote that “all of this cannot be invented.” Vilma and his attorney, Peter Ginsberg, were unimpressed and left the proceedings early.
Vilma complained to reporters about Goodell’s role as “judge, jury and executioner,” and Ginsberg also blasted the process. “We’re not willing to participate in that kind of sham,” the attorney said. “The commissioner had legal obligations and procedural obligations. He failed in those obligations, and as far as we’re concerned, these proceedings are over.”
Unfortunately for Vilma and any player who lands in Goodell’s doghouse, the commissioner has absolute power. If they don’t like that fact, they have only themselves and their union to blame. Goodell’s power was left intact when the league and the union settled their labor dispute last summer and signed a 10-year collective bargaining agreement.
