Woodley and Harrison React....

[Jooser]

to the Saints' players suspensions via Facebook:

Woodley:

Vilma suspended a whole yr FOR PLAYING FOOTBALL???? cmon man!!!!!

Harrison:

Ridiculous, and nobody really sees why the punishments have been so severe over the past 3 4years! Lawsuits and 18 games???

Well, there's little doubt they hate the decision. Thoughts?

[hawaiiansteel]

of course Vilma getting suspended for a year is too harsh and excessive.

but this is not just about the bounty program, this is Roger Goodell and the NFL trying to protect themselves from future lawsuits.

[squidkid]

all 22- 27 players that were involved in this should have been suspended for at least 1 year. the main players longer. any nfl player that doesnt see this is an idiot.

[steelblood]

To me, it is a fine line between trying to knock someone out of the game and trying to injure someone in a way that could cause them long term suffering (loss of wages, reduced quality of life). To judge these folks is slippery business indeed.

One can easily argue that trying to knock someone out of a game is dirty. But, intimidating hits are usually part of a winning formula and have long been the norm in the NFL. To take them away from the game is to change it forever. But, it seems, that is where we are heading.

[Eich]

Harrison should be happy that someone finally got punished more severly than him.

I think all the fines against Harrison and guys like him are absurd. But I tend to side with the NFL on the bounty thing. Participating in a program that essentially encourages ending careers is unacceptable and sets an awful example for kids.

The NFL should have come down as harshly on the Patriots for their cheating. They got nothing but a slap on the wrist.

[aggiebones]

They are definitely 'trying' to show the league is not about hurting anyone on purpose. The NFL will be hit VERY hard by some upcoming lawsuits. Brain damage is gonna be a biggie and could alter the game past recognition if they don't win somehow.
Junior Seau's death was another pox upon the league.


Eliminating permanent injuries is more important to the league than cheating. Rightfully so, though neither should be tolerated.

I can't remember what the Pats lost? Just cash or also picks? That was very early in Goodell's tenure.

[hawaiiansteel]

They are definitely 'trying' to show the league is not about hurting anyone on purpose. The NFL will be hit VERY hard by some upcoming lawsuits. Brain damage is gonna be a biggie and could alter the game past recognition if they don't win somehow.
Junior Seau's death was another pox upon the league.

Junior Seau was one of the fiercest competitors I ever saw play.

a real tragedy, Junior Seau RIP...

[phillyesq]

My biggest thought is that I wish the Steelers would keep quiet on this issue. If Vilma and the rest were attempting to injure people (not just hurt or knock out of a game, but injure), then I have no real problem with the suspensions.

Rather than be seen as protesting everything, I'd rather the Steelers players distinguish the conduct of the Saints from their own legitimate and hard hits.

[RuthlessBurgher]

They are definitely 'trying' to show the league is not about hurting anyone on purpose. The NFL will be hit VERY hard by some upcoming lawsuits. Brain damage is gonna be a biggie and could alter the game past recognition if they don't win somehow.
Junior Seau's death was another pox upon the league.


Eliminating permanent injuries is more important to the league than cheating. Rightfully so, though neither should be tolerated.

I can't remember what the Pats lost? Just cash or also picks? That was very early in Goodell's tenure.

They forfeited their first round pick in 2008 because of SpyGate (it was supposed to be 31st overall), but were allowed to keep the other first round pick they obtained in a previous trade with San Francisco (10th overall; used to select Jerod Mayo).

[ter1230_4]

My biggest thought is that I wish the Steelers would keep quiet on this issue. If Vilma and the rest were attempting to injure people (not just hurt or knock out of a game, but injure), then I have no real problem with the suspensions.

Rather than be seen as protesting everything, I'd rather the Steelers players distinguish the conduct of the Saints from their own legitimate and hard hits.

I couldn't agree more with the first part--the Steelers should just STFU about all of this stuff. The main reason they are Goofwell's main target for fines and suspensions is that they couldn't keep their mouths shut. When Roy Anderson praised Harrison after the Dolphins game in 2010 for changing the way he plays in response to the "new policy", all they had to do was to play along with the BS like the rest of the NFL sheep. But no, not only did Harrison deny that he changed the way he plays, but Tomlin had to make his famous comment about not being able to care less about what the League office thought. Goofwell and his minions have been at war against Harrison and the rest of the Steelers ever since. Sometime this season Harrison is going to make a hit that wouldn't get anyone else in the NFL fined and he will get suspended for 4 games.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers take to Twitter after Bountygate suspensions

May 2, 2012
By Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Several Steelers players reacted incredulously today on Twitter to the punishment handed four New Orleans Saints players -- including a one-year suspension to linebacker Jonathan Vilma -- for their role in Bountygate.

Outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley was one of several players who voiced displeasure after National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the suspensions.

"Vilma suspended a whole yr FOR PLAYING FOOTBALL???? Cmon man!!!!!," Woodley wrote on Twitter.

Outside linebacker James Harrison, who has been fined and suspended by the league for illegal hits, tweeted, "Ridiculous, and nobody really sees why the punishments have been so severe over the past 3 4 years! Lawsuits and 18 games???"

Safety Ryan Clark played for the Washington Redskins when Gregg Williams, who was suspended indefinitely without pay for orchestrating the bounty scandal with the Saints, was their defensive coordinator. Williams is the defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams.

"Wonder why the team got the least penalties in Bounty Gate! Think about who elects & rewarded the commish, it's the owners of the teams!" the safety wrote on Twitter.

Vilma was one of four players identified as the ringleader of the bounty program that financially rewarded teammates for taking out or injuring star players on the opposing team. He was given the harshest penalty -- a one-year suspension -- for his role.

Also suspended were defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (eight games), defensive end Will Smith (four games) and linebacker Scott Fujita (three games). Fujita now plays for the Cleveland Browns.

Responding on Twitter to a question about whether other teams condone similar actions, Harrison wrote, "I can't say that every team does that cause we don't and I haven't played for any other team."

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-take-to-twitter-after-bountygate-suspensions-634069/[/URL]

[Sugar]

Were there any dirty hits or fouls caught on film? The NFL films everything anymore and has for years. It seems that if Vilma, or anyone else did anything dirty it would be on film. I can understand where the Steelers players are coming from seeing this. I wouldn't tell them to shut up about their careers anymore than I would want them to tell people to just play along with anyone else's company politics.

[Crash]

Gerry Dulac needs to start walking home from Indy.

[Chadman]

Roger Goodell is in a no-win situation here- he needs to attempt to protect the game from future legal issues, and by doing so, he'll change the way the game is played so far as physicality goes. That goes against the grain of what the average fan wants, and what most of the current & older players would want. But he has to do it to protect the guys that make the NFL work- the owners.

Ryan Clark seems to be on the right track- he questions why the players cop the bigger penalty & not the team. Simple- the Saints owners pay Goodell & the NFL's wages. Is it fair? No, not at all. But it's easy to see how this situation can arise. Same with the penalties on the Pats during Spy Gate- given the penalties the players cop, the Pats should easily have been handed a greater fine/punishment- but the fact is, Goodell was being forced in many ways, to reprimand his employer. How far can you go with that before you put the employer off-side?

We will see a safer NFL in time- won't happen right away, but rules will be changed in order to make it safer & new guys coming into the game will be taught the new guidelines from a much earlier stage in their learning process. We might not see "Goodell's NFL" for a good 5-6 years, to be honest. Until then we'll still see a core of players that believe 'the old way is the right way' & will resist change. Fines, suspensions etc will continue.

In the end- this is all Chadman's opinion, obviously. He doesn't 'blame' Goodell so much as he blames the modern society, where we offer a career path to young people, they go into this career path seeing only the money & the golden path they follow, and refuse to see for themselves the pitfalls that any career can disguise.

Players suing the NFL make Chadman shake his head- it's not like they didn't know they could get hurt going into the game. Could the NFL do more for safety? Probably. But so long as they continue to show efforts towards trying to improve player safety- can the players really ask for more?

Bounty Gate- the players should have copped these fines & suspensions. Woodley & Harrison are wrong- targetting players with the aim to hurt them is not in 'the spirit of the game'. It is, after all, a game- a sport. Football in itself will always produce injuries because of the nature of the game- but deliberately attempting to hurt someone- is criminal. The coaches copped their fines, and they deserved them too. The Saints football club should have been hit harder, however.

[Steelgal]

Honestly, I wasn't surprised by the length of the suspensions. Vilma seemed to be one of the biggest players involved in bounty system. I was surprised only 4 players got suspended. I expected more and only 2 of them still play for the Saints.

As for how Spygate was punished, this has to be more heavily addressed because of the lawsuit issues. The NFL is about making money. Spygate didn't have any potential lawsuits stemming from it. This has the potential of sooo many more. When the NFL stops making a profit, it will end. Who knows how much they might have to pay out in the future on lost lawsuits.

Sometimes I think social media is a really bad thing for players. Yes, you can hear more from them or possibly even interact with them, but that has its downside. It gives them a media to speak their mind, when it isn't always warranted. It's not wrong to have an opinion, but some opinions just aren't meant to be said to millions of followers. I really think future contracts should have some type of social media clause in them, to an extent. Don't ban the players from participating, but give them restrictions on what can be said. If it's gonna hurt your franchise by unwanted attention, keep it to yourself.