Jonathan Vilma Sues Roger Goodell

I don't know if suing Roger Goodell will come amount to everything but I love it.

The suit in U.S. District Court in New Orleans claims Goodell, "relied on, at best, hearsay, circumstantial evidence and lies" in making comments about Vilma while discussing the NFL's bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints.

Goodell has said Vilma was a leader of the team's bounty program that put up thousands of dollars for hits which took out opposing teams' star players from 2009-11, including $10,000 each on then-Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and then-Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre during the playoffs in 2010.

"Commissioner Goodell opted to make very public and unfortunately erroneous allegations against Jonathan," said Vilma's attorney, Peter Ginsberg. "By making these false and public statements, he has significantly harmed Jonathan's reputation and ability to make a living. ESPN

The suit states that Vilma seeks an unspecified sum in excess of $75,000 and alleges that damaging statements by Goodell were made "with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity and/or with malice.

In the 16 page document it says this:
35. Vilma never established, or assisted in establishing, a Bounty Program or any similar program in violation of NFL rules.
36. Vilma never "pledged," made or received payments of any kind encouraging or resulting from an opposing player being carried off the field, i.e., "cart-offs."
37. Vilma never "pledged," made or received payments of any kind encouraging or resulting from an opposing player being unable to return to the game, i.e., "knockouts."
38. Vilma never "pledged," made or received payments of any kind encouraging or resulting from an opposing player being injured.
39. Vilma never "targeted" an opposing player in any manner that would violate NFL rules.
40. Vilma never engaged "in unsafe and prohibited conduct intended to injure players."
41. Vilma never "participate[d] in a program that potentially injured opposing players."
42. Vilma never "embraced" a Bounty Program or any similar program in violation of NFL rules.
43. Vilma never paid, or intended to pay, $10,000, or any amount of money, as an incentive to any player to knock Warner, Favre, or any other player, out of the 2009 Divisional Playoff Game, 2010 NFC Championship Game, or any other game.
44. Vilma never placed $10,000, or any amount of money, on any table or anywhere else as part of a Bounty Program or any other program in violation of NFL rules.

Vilma has put on twitter; "As I've said before..I NEVER PAID, NOR INTENDED TO PAY ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY, TO ANY PLAYER FOR INTENTIONALLY HURTING AN OPPONENT."

If anything, this puts pressure on Roger Goodell to release evidence, because for him to suspend 4 players for an extended amount of time without releasing evidence is absolute bullshit. Even the biggest Goodell supporters have to admit, that's a little fishy.

If Goodell has evidence, I see no reason to not release it. That would squash any type of speculation from people like me and shut up upset players and fans of the New Orleans franchise.

I also hate Goodell, and I don't think he has enough evidence to support his suspensions. I think in Goodell's mind he wanted to flex his commissioner powers and make a statement, rather than fairly judge players. He wanted to make a statement and he made Jonathan Vilma unfairly a scapegoat and suspended him for listening to his coach. Also, in the report he doesn't deny a bounty program, he just denies his involvement, and if he had no involvement in the program the Captain needs to write Vilma a letter of apology.

Goodell must be stopped, and they need for him to not be the judge for appeals as well. The whole system is fucked, and Goodell needs to release evidence.

Rays 2, Red Sox 1

There's no shame in being shut down by Jeremy Hellickson. So I'm not too disappointed by this game. In fact, there is one strong positive to take from this: Buchholz doesn't suck anymore. He's gone from horrible to not-so-bad. He had to be pulled in the 6th, after only 87 pitches, but he's not stinking up the joint like he was back in April.

He's improving. And that's good.

One thing that isn't good is that the Red Sox lead the world in balks. Three more balks last night. There have been 45 balks in all of Major League Baseball this season. The Red Sox have 6 of them.

Balks are a bit freakish. But what irritates me is how much attention Sox pitchers give to baserunners. It just isn't worth it. Bard has struggled with this, and so has Buchholz. I miss the days when Joe Kerrigan was the pitching coach and the Sox didn't give a rat's ass about what baserunners did. Who cares if a runner steals second so long as the batter grounds out to third or flies out to left?

Sox' pitchers need to stop worrying about baserunners and focus on hitters.

Good job by the Rays for selling 20,843 seats. They have a first place team, hosting a divisional rival that happens to be one of the most storied in the game. And they barely fill half their park. Yes, baseball definitely belongs in the Tampa Bay area. Just like hockey belongs in Arizona.

Will Rhymes was carted off after being hit by a pitch on the wrist. He passed out due to an adrenaline rush. Jonathan Vilma blocked me on Twitter after I told him he owed Scott Atchison $10,000 for the cart off.

So the Sox' streak is over. But as I said in the first paragraph, there is no shame in being shut down by Jeremy Hellickson.

Doubront faces Matt Moore tonight. He isn't that good.

-The Captain

The Game Isn't Played That Way Anymore

From across the country, NFL players rallied around the four Saints that were suspended yesterday. The players felt as though Vilma, Hargrove, Smith, and Fujita were being punished for "playing football." That trying to hurt an opponent was "part of the game."

Not anymore.

That's what the players and some fans don't seem to get. The NFL is trying to get rid of that part of the game.

The scandalous part of this scandal was the money. Pay-to-injure. The Saints coaches and players like Vilma paid cash to players for injuring opponents. Which is a salary cap violation. And it also goes against what the NFL has been trying to do in order to limit injuries.

And I know Goodell and the owners are concerned about the safety of their money more than the safety of the players. I know Goodell is an autocrat, a king operating without restrictions. But that's what his position requires.

Everyone in the NFL is concerned about money. Players hold out for money. Players switch teams for money. Neither the owners or the players can use the greed argument against the other. They're all greedy. We're all greedy.

The NFL wants to protect their investment. They invest in the players and invest in the game. The League wants the game to be as hard-hitting and as safe as possible. It's a tenuous balancing act. The NHL is struggling with a similar problem. The NHL wants the game to be as fast and physical as possible, but they don't want to see players carted off the ice with their heads in neckboards. Both leagues want the game exciting so fans watch, but not so violent that they turn away.

The Saints' bounty program unbalanced what the NFL is trying to produce. The Saints' bounty program was purely about hard hits and injuries. The NFL can't allow that.

Vilma, Hargrove, Smith, and Fujita helped Gregg Williams and Sean Payton set up this bounty program. And before this off-season, such a program might have seemed to be part of the way football has always been played.

But it isn't how the game will be played anymore.

Enough of this Saints stuff. I'm going to take Bills' linebacker Kirk Morrison's advice:

Instead of following this Bounty fallout, I'm going to google "Kate Upton Cat Daddy" again. Yeah that's a great idea. Now that's a fallout.
— Kirk Morrison (@kirkmorrison) May 2, 2012

-The Captain

Captain's Thoughts: Saints Suspensions

When Jonathan Vilma put $10,000 cash on the table and offered it as a reward to any of his teammates who could knock Brett Favre out of the NFC Championship game in early 2010, he had no idea that he would be costing himself $5.5 million. That was the punishment handed down by Roger Goodell today. Vilma has been suspended for the season, without pay.

And I'm all for it. Vilma offered a financial incentive (which is a violation of the salary cap) to injure a player. Anyone who thinks the punishment is too harsh must take into consideration those two points. The Saints were violating the cap. And they were encouraging their players to injure other players. I don't know if you've noticed, but the NFL has been trying to clamp down on injuries, especially to QBs.

Oh, and then the Saints repeatedly lied about it, and continued to do it even while under investigation. Like a burglar continuing to rob a house even after the police show up.

And maybe this took place with other teams. I doubt the Saints were the only team that had such a program. It won't happen anymore, though, after what happened to Sean Payton and now these four players.

Anthony Hargrove was suspended for 8 games. Probably due to his obstructing the investigation and initially lying to the NFL.

Will Smith was suspended for 4 games (and sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in California). He reportedly helped former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams set up the bounty program.

Scott Fujita, who is now on the Browns, was suspended for 3 games.

What the Saints did was wrong. And even if other teams did it, that's a lame excuse. If you got pulled over by a State Trooper would you say to him "You know, I'm not the only one speeding on 128 right now." Yeah, good luck getting out of that ticket.

No head coach will promote or allow a bounty program after what happened to Payton.

And now, no player will try to set up such a program on their own, or even participate, after what happened to these four guys. The risk has become greater than the reward. Thanks to Roger Goodell.

-The Captain

Breaking News: NFL Suspends Vilma For 2012 Season (2 UPDATES)

Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the 2012 season for his role in the Saints' bounty program. Three other players are also suspended.

We are waiting to hear the rest, but this is obviously a big deal. Vilma was set to make $5.5 million this year, so he is losing all of that.

***UPDATE***

The other 3 players suspended are Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove, and Will Smith. Fujita (now with the Browns) got a 3 game suspension without pay, Hargrove (now with the Packers) is suspended without pay for the first eight games, Will Smith of the Saints is suspended without pay for the first four games.

***UPDATE 2***

"In assessing player discipline, I focused on players who were in leadership positions at the Saints; contributed a particularly large sum of money toward the program; specifically contributed to a bounty on an opposing player; demonstrated a clear intent to participate in a program that potentially injured opposing players; sought rewards for doing so; and/or obstructed the 2010 investigation," Goodell said in a statement.

Added Goodell: "No bounty program can exist without active player participation. The evidence clearly showed that the players being held accountable today willingly and enthusiastically embraced the bounty program. Players put the vast majority of the money into this program and they share responsibility for playing by the rules and protecting each other within those rules (WEEI)."