Cerullo-the original whistleblower-started this whole thing, and when he was outed, Vilma and his lawyer claim he has recanted.

Hargrove SIGNED A DECLARATION IN THAT HE ACKNOWLEDGED HE WAS IN THE WRONG and when that was used against him, he suddenly decided that it was not true.

So lets out the rest of the witnesses who are still working in football in some capacity (and presumably want to keep working in football in some capacity) and see what side they err on, because im sure once everyone knows who they are, theyll sing the same tune…

JFC, Saints fans..

1.) the NFL is a business a Goodell doesn’t have to play by the same rules as the government when it comes to identifying witnesses.

2.) Payton and Williams sung like canaries so they could one day get back in the NFL and their stories colaborated the evidence that was already there.

3.) if everybody was so innocent, why didn’t they testify and why did they refuse to meet with Goodell.

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#2 being the key point. #3 being hard to deny, and #1 is just plain common sense. I understand that not everyone is educated about such matters as #1, but then why go spouting off about it? Also who are the 91 people who don’t understand what you are trying to say…or am I just to assume they get it but disliked your comment anyway?

The right to confront one’s accuser need not be assured, particularly when it would result in killing virtually all future investigations that rely on insider information. As long as the anonymous whistleblower’s information is independently corroborated, then there is no problem in using this vital insider information.

And you are naive in the extreme if you think that any organization can effectively protect whistleblowers when their indentities are known. Once exposed, people will find a way to retaliate against them, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly.

How would you feel if the owners started making lawsuits against players to get money back or have more otas or more contact in practice?

Payton, Loomis issue joint statement

Posted by Mike Florio on March 6, 2012, 5:24 PM EDT

[Editor's note: Saints coach Sean Payton and Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis have issued a joint statement regarding the bounty system that the Saints utilized from 2009 through 2011. The full text of the statement appears below.]

We acknowledge that the violations disclosed by the NFL during their investigation of our club happened under our watch. We take full responsibility.

The reality is that the NFL has not released all the evidence. And they won’t. At least not to the public. But the 4 suspended players and their attny’s refused to participate in the appeal seesion. Perhaps because they know the potentially has evidence to refute any lies they want to present in their defense. So you try and get the league to lay out every piece of evidence first. The problem is that this is not a court case. It is a process governed by the CBA. It’s funny that you want to call out the NFL’s “wrongs” but fail to recognize that the players have tried to subvert the process all the way from investigation through appeal. I have done investigations into employee violations of policy and conduct. You only present what you need to to enact discipline. If an employee presents information in an appeal or to deny the claim you can then introduce evidence to refute (i.e. prove that they are lying to you) that was not already introduced or shown to them. It’s how you catch people in lies about their involvement in breaking rules or policy. It’s also most likely why none of these 4 players said anything at the appeal. But Florio won’t tell you this in his musings because it won’t generate enough hits or comments if he posts that.

Mike, please name 1 large corporation that doesn’t have an anonymous hotline that is promoted for employees to provide information against employee wrong doing and that also guarantees anonymity.

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How about you naming one that does? I’ve worked for several and not one have I worked for works in this manner, NOT ONE. So, I will await your response, which we will never get. Any complaints about any team members/associates behavior or job performance were brought to that persons attention with the accuser’s name in full view and discussed. You are clueless to say other wise and have never worked for one.

Initially, many didn’t care where the Bountygate information came from or that there might be issues with the credibility of the NFL’s information used to “convict” those said to be involved.

The NFL’s insistence on secrecy brings into question the credibility of the entire process. When the NFL began leaking selected information to the media, I began to question the strength of the NFL case against the players and coaches.

Until the NFL comes clean and allows all the information and the sources of that information, to be viewed by the public, I cannot support the punishment handed out by the NFL.

Would they be quite so joyful about pointing out that this not a court of law and the stupid players should have gone on strike to wrestle long-held powers from the commish–as if this is a much better way of doing things?

Basic human rights?! Wow! That is the ultimate in hyperbole! This is NOT a human rights case, these players aren’t being jailed or executed without prosecution, they broke the rules and have been suspended from their jobs, when they serve those suspensions they will be able to get their jobs back, either with their current teams or new ones.
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How do you know they’ll get their jobs back? That’s easy for you to say behind the comfort of your computer. NFL careers are very short. What about their reputations? Vilma particularly had a bright future as a broadcaster or coach. Yes, it was his “basic human right” to know what he was accused of, to be able to confront the evidence against him, to not be slandered for 4 months by Goodell and the press while he had to keep quiet, and to be able to speak out in his defense without the NFL twisting his words using it for further punishment (which they did many times along the way). I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that we all should have those basic rights to keep our jobs without reasonable cause for suspension & damaged reputations.

Again, it’s easy to deal someone else’s life away, and alarming how quick people are to do it without any regard for what it would be like to happen to them.

It’s well known that the Saints have fired several disgruntled employees in the past four seasons. It’s well known that the employees have made numerous attempts at smear campaigns. It’s well known that the supposed evidence against the players is false. It’s well known that the players are filing their own suit against the nfl and cannot therefore meet with the commissioner. It’s well known that the players have denied receiving money, that other than Fijita and Shanle, they haven’t admitted to anything and have actually denied it.

Taken together, this looks like a clear smear campaign and a total waste of everyone’s money and time. Even if there was a bounty program, no one was hurt. But people are being seriously injured by goodell’s handling of this case. It looks like wrongful injury–taking away the right to earn a living in a chosen profession. Sure the players can bag groceries and adjust lifestyle, but it is against American public policy to damage a person’s employment without just cause. You don’t need a law degree to see the wrongs here.

Spite is a horrible emotion upon which to plan and execute one’s legal strategy.

Tell me what specifically, based on what we know about the information leaked and shared by the NFL thus far (phony ledgers, the Hargrove video, forged and misrepresented confessions, and so on), would cause you to believe this.

I’m guessing 97 percent of the reason behind your “suspicions” have something with the particular team you pull for. And in this case, whom you don’t pull for.

Also the players (and their union) had the chance to participate in the process and they elected not to, instead choosing to take this to court…which they wouldn’t be able to do if this was really a human rights violation.

Some people really need to realize where all of this rates in the grand scheme of things!

If a whistleblower leads investigators to material evidence that CAN be presented, then there is no need to expose them. This whistleblower clearly sucked at giving the investigators leads and therefor the league is trying to use the original statements of the whistleblower as evidence while keeping the anonymous.

That shouldn’t fly.

Yes Mike you are right on but like Mike McCaskey and Dan Snyder found out it is like no other business. It requires hard work and struggle AND it’s entertainment. Football players have limited time to perform. Suspensions kill this. They are insecure and paranoid about being replaced by guys whose only attribute over them is that they are there. That’s why guys play injured they don’t want to be Wally Pipp or Don Majikowski. You darn right they’ ll retaliate– and in practice. Remember, these are the guys who had Bounties. Believe me.

Really? That’s the best example you could find? Is Mary Jo White your legal advisor?

That’s the cost of guaranteeing that innocent people don’t get convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.

Sounds like you would be more comfortable living in Iran.