Four players file bounty appeals with NFL, seek Goodell's removal as arbitrator

NEW ORLEANS -- All four players punished in the NFL's bounty investigation have filed appeals with the league. People familiar with the situation say the players have asked commissioner Roger Goodell to remove himself as arbitrator because they do not believe he can be impartial.

One of the people also said New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma expects to play at Tampa Bay on Oct. 21 while his appeal is pending. The people spoke to the Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the appeals were filed as private documents with the league.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed Friday that all four players had filed appeals, but said the league would decline comment on the substance of those documents.

It's the latest round of appeals by the players.

About a month ago, a three-member appeal panel created by the NFL's collective bargaining agreement vacated initial disciplinary rulings handed down by Goodell. Then Tuesday, the commissioner upheld his initial suspensions of Vilma and Saints defensive end Will Smith, and revised his suspensions of Cleveland Browns linebacker and former Saint Scott Fujita and free-agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove.

Vilma has been on the Saints' physically unable to perform list while continuing his comeback from offseason surgery on his left knee, but may be activated after the first six weeks of the regular season. Goodell said Vilma could be paid for his time on New Orleans' PUP list. New Orleans has a bye this week.

Vilma remains suspended for the season, while Smith remains suspended four games. Hargrove's suspension was reduced from eight to seven games and Fujita's was cut from three games to one.

In effect, Hargrove now faces a two-game ban because his initial eight-game suspension was reduced by one and he was given credit for five games missed as a free agent after he was cut by Green Bay in the preseason.

The appeals filed Friday are only the latest of many maneuvers in a contentious back-and-forth involving the players, the NFL Players Association and the league office.

Vilma has a related defamation case pending against Goodell in federal court in New Orleans.

In addition, Vilma and the NFLPA, which is representing the other three players, could ask U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan to revisit their earlier legal challenge of the suspensions.

The union and Vilma would have to refile those requests with Berrigan, who placed the matter on indefinite hold when the three-member NFL appeal panel vacated the initial suspensions on technical grounds and informed Goodell that he had to clarify his basis for the punishment.

The panel, which did not address the merits of the investigation, said it needed to be clear that Goodell's disciplinary decisions in the Saints' cash-for-hits pool pertained exclusively to conduct detrimental to football, and not salary cap violations, which would have to be handled by an arbitrator other than the commissioner.

Berrigan has stated that she found the NFL's disciplinary process unfair and that she would be inclined to grant Vilma at least a temporary restraining order if she believed she had jurisdiction on the matter.

However, Berrigan also has stated that she is hesitant to rule until she is certain the players have exhausted all possible remedies available to them through the NFL's labor agreement. She has further stressed that all parties would be wise to settle the matter out of court, but a federal magistrate has had little success getting meaningful settlement talks moving.

The four players were implicated in what the NFL said was a bounty pool run by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and paid improper cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents. The players have acknowledged a pool but denied they intended to injure anyone. Goodell has been unmoved by the players' distinction regarding intent, outlining several instances in which Williams made notations of player rewards due for hits that knocked opponents out of games.

Williams, now with St. Louis, has cooperated with the league's investigation but is currently suspended indefinitely. Saints head coach Sean Payton is suspended for the season, general manager Mickey Loomis for eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt six games. They were punished separately from the players and all are serving out their punishment.

By contrast, the players and their union have put up intense resistance for the past half-year with no sign of letting up.

Even after his suspension was reduced this week, Fujita was harshly critical of Goodell, calling the "condescending tone" of his disciplinary letter unproductive, accusing the commissioner of misusing his power and questioning Goodell's record on player safety.

"The commissioner says he is disappointed in me," Fujita said Wednesday. "The truth is, I'm disappointed in him."

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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Arbitrator backs NFL in bounty case, affirms Goodell's disciplinary power

Monday June 04, 2012 - 11:00 AM

Roger Goodell's disciplinary powers are being challenged by the NFLPA. (AP)

NEW YORK -- An arbitrator ruled Monday that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has the authority to discipline New Orleans Saints players for their role in a bounty system.

The NFL Players Association challenged Goodell's power to impose penalties for what the league says was a three-year bounty program that targeted specific players. Stephen Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, took only five days to determine that Goodell has the power to punish the players under the collective bargaining agreement reached last August to end the lockout. The news was first reported by CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman

Goodell suspended Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012 season and teammate Will Smith for four games. Former Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove, now with Green Bay, was suspended for eight games, while linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, was docked three games.

Those players have appealed the suspensions. And the players' union said Monday it expects to appeal Burbank's decision because it believes salary cap violations are involved in the payment. That would give Burbank the authority to rule on penalizing any players involved.

Burbank did, however, retain temporary jurisdiction on Hargrove's role and asked Goodell for more information on Hargrove's "alleged participation."

Burbank "invited the commissioner to clarify the precise basis for his discipline of Mr. Hargrove who, among other things, was found to have lied to the league's investigators and obstructed their investigation," the NFL said in a statement.

The union said in a statement it "believes that the players are entitled to neutral arbitration of these issues under the CBA and will continue to fight for that principle and to protect the fair due process rights of all players." The NFLPA noted Burbank wrote that "nothing in this opinion is intended to convey a view about the underlying facts or the appropriateness of the discipline imposed."

The union filed another grievance with a different arbitrator, Shyam Das, contending the new CBA prohibits Goodell from punishing players for any conduct before the CBA was signed. The league's investigation showed the bounty program ran from 2009-11.

Das has yet to rule on that grievance, which also seeks to have player appeals heard by Art Shell and Ted Cottrell, who are jointly appointed by the league and union to review discipline handed out for on-field conduct.

The league and union have spent plenty of time before arbitrators and judges this offseason, with two other major cases pending.

Vilma has sued Goodell for defamation in a U.S. District Court in New Orleans and Goodell has been given until July 5 to respond to the action.

The players also have sued the league in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, saying the owners colluded in the uncapped 2010 season to have a secret salary cap. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith has said such collusion could have cost players $1 billion in wages.

That lawsuit stems, in part, from the NFL stripping the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys of salary cap room in 2012 and `13. The Redskins had their cap reduced $36 million over the two years and the Cowboys lost $10 million in cap space.

Both teams filed a grievance and lost.

Copyright 2012 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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