The 2009 Vikings had a bounty program of their own. Unless they didn’t.
Former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber has strongly denied a claim for former Vikings guard Artis Hicks that the team victimized by the Saints’ bounty scandal had a bounty program of its own.
“I never heard of any bounty program existing within Vikings locker room,” Leber tweeted. “We had incentives for big plays, not injuries.”
Whether it’s a matter or semantics or fundamental differences, it doesn’t matter. The NFL made a conscious decision four years ago not to explore the rabbit hole but to plug it with cement, even as multiple players who served under former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams came forward to say he had bounty programs in other cities.
For the league, it wasn’t about resolving a cultural problem. It was about catching a culprit, punishing them dramatically and publicly, and scaring everyone else straight.
So, basically, unless there’s proof of a bounty scandal in or after 2012, the NFL won’t be doing anything.