“Thomas moved his head to the right and lowered his head into Whitner’s path. Since then Jackntorres cries about it every chance to convince that the Niners are dirty. What made this whole incident hilarious is the fact it was the Saints who were caught being dirty and you’ve been back pedaling and pointing the finger since.”

“The part where he talks about Crabtree’s ACL, Williams’ concussion history and paying for getting Alex Smith’s head is where he screwed up.”

“To the Saints fans who are saying the Giants also said the same about Kyle Williams: yeah they said it, but there is no evidence (or even accusation) about the Giants getting paid for hitting him. It’s called the scouting report. There is a big difference between putting a bounty to injure a guy and making the team aware of his injuries. I’m sure you won’t accept it though and continue to point the finger and act like your team are martyrs.”

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BigCali, you are correct on many points. The hit on Thomas was within the rules, the “speech” by Gregg Williams was stupid and should not have been made. But you, and just about everyone in the media is missing the point:

Over the last three years, the Saints, as a team, have been nowhere near the dirtiest team in the NFL. The NFL reviews EVERY PLAY from EVERY GAME and then fines players for illegal hits. If the hit on Pierre Thomas was a legal hit, and it was, then the hits the Saints have put on other players, within the rules, were legal hits also.

There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that ANY Saints player altered their play and delivered an ILLEGAL hit to any player as a result of a bounty. NONE, ZERO, NO EVIDENCE.

Gregg Williams is an idiot, Sean Payton should suffer a penalty of some sort (a one year suspension is too much), but see beyond the words, and some actions (failing to stop the talk), but please look at the actions on the field. Some individual players have been fined more for ILLEGAL HITS over the last three years than the entire Saints team as a whole.

What this “filmmaker” did was basically ensure that no other filmmaker will be allowed in to an NFL locker room ever again.

What Williams did was the felonious act of conspiracy. I don’t care through what LEGAL methods this information was gathered, this information is legitimately public domain as criminal activity is embedded in it. There is NO attorney/client privilege or illegal gathering of information. Any contractual elements are overridden by the criminal conduct. In other words, this is legitimate evidence in a court of law. Debating whether it was releasable only by subpoena is semantics.

So let’s be clear. What Williams did needs to be adjudicated, and this information is a backbone for the prosecution. If someone is aware of a crime such as this they may not be bound to disclose it, but if they do, any civil “abuse” takes a back set the criminality involved.

…but did Pamphilon ask Gleason if he thought releasing the recordings would be in Gleason’s best interests?

NO, he did not…and that is where Pamphilon’s problems start.

If there is a written agreement that says those recordings belong to Gleason…I hope Pamphilon gets sewed for everything he has.

Pamphilon made his bed, now he will have to lay in it. He will likely be banned from every NFL teams premises.

Pamphilon violated the trust of a “dying man”…a new low for the sports media.

No, Mr. Pamphilon is self-aggrandizing. I question his morals more than Mr. Williams (whom has helped 100s if not 1000s of disadvantaged children through his charities. Yes, that’s right, you never heard about Mr. Williams tireless work for children because he does it quietly behind the scenes).

And Vikings fans spare us. One extra hit on your quarterback didn’t cause you to turn the ball over 5 times or have Brett Favre go gunslinger and toss it across his body into traffic, or allow The Saints offense to put up 30+.

Do you actually think anyone believes your not a AINTS fan? But I am glad you pulled out your dictionary to post some big words.

Keep telling yourself that, someday you might actually believe it.

Of course Gleason is going to sticking up for the team who has really stuck by his side and that is noble but really, Is Williams that much of a dumbass to have that stuff put on tape?

Does anyone remember what happened to the bulk of the Spygates tapes turned over to Roger Goodell in 2007? He destroyed them so the media was never able to investigate how long the Pats were stealing signals. The NFL is not required to release or preserve evidence that it considers damning to the league. Pamphilon might have gotten paid off to ‘forget’ the incident just like many suspect Matt Walsh was.

It seems that this disagreement has killed the project. It’s a shame that Gleason has come across as petty when there is a much larger issue at stake: intention to injure. How can a dying man fail to see the big picture in life – if not for himself, then for his son River.

“great national interest” “larger than both of them” man your priorities are whacked. This is football it’s a brief escape from reality. Great national importance I think not. This is an issue of mind candy. It is a chance for arm chair quarterbacks to pass judgement on people who have achieved more than they have in life. It is the modern day version of Voltaire’s Candide.

a- was legally released from any obligation to non disclosure when Williams offered payment in exchange for aggravated assault on tape… a contract that results in an illegal act (conspiracy to coverup the assault contract) is null and void…

Random guy you are wrong. I think you are trying to argue breach of contract under mandated reporters section of the law. This will come as a huge shock to some but the NFL is not a law enforcement agency. Under this type of breach of contract he would have a write to turn it over to law enforcement. Yahoo is not law enforcement. Williams is not being charged with a crime. Sheesh! Posters are getting dumber all the time.

If it was so crucial that this be released, why didn’t he turn it over to the league as soon as it happened? Instead he waited over two months, and then released it himself. What’s up with that??? Can any one explain???

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There are a LOT of mental hurdles to leap when considering the release of supporting evidence in a situation with great national interest. I do not know Pamphilon or Gleason, but this story – and the supporting evidence – is larger than both of them.

Insofar as releasing it through the press, that one I can explain with some confidence, borne of experience. It was the safest move, to put it in the hands of the media rather than the NFL League office, or for that matter Gregg Williams or the Saints organization. Going straight to a public forum offers some protection against a variety of possibile responses, none of them good. Not to say the NFL would have dismissed it, threatened him in some way with legal action, etc., but better safe than sorry.

If he was looking to make money from it, then you’d have been whipping out your credit card to hear it on a web site somewhere, or he’d have sold it to the highest media bidder. He’s been villified by a lot of blog commenters already, and yet, all he did was provide strong supporting evidence of an existing finding. Making the decision to release it at all I’m sure gave him no end of sleepless nights, whether anyone believes that or not.

as to the argument made by some that he somehow violated a trust between he and Gleason, again, this was larger than both of them. God bless Gleason and his family, and what he was trying to do in hiring Pamphilion for his children is noble and brave. As some have pointed out, however, the extraordinary nature of the audio of Williams telling his players to target heads and knees of previously injured opponents is vile in the extreme.

I’m glad Pamphilion came to the conclusion that the audio had to be revealed, and I don’t blame him a bit for doing it through the media. That was the best move in a bevy of tough choices.