Part of the reason I think I've avoided most of the litigation surrounding Bountygate and the various accusations, punishments and appeals associated with it is that seems to obfuscate many of the underlying problems the NFL will face in the years to come. From what I can tell, there are only bad guys in the Saints bounty drama: Roger Goodell, for disingenuously and wielding self-righteous executive power; Saints coaches, for endorsing the bounty program, either tacitly or explicitly; and Saints players, who participated in the bounty program.
The NFL is essentially a modified bounty program that rewards players who demonstrate exceptional ability in a sport that is inherently violent. Jonathan Vilma, who has been the most vocal Bountygate perpetrator, has repeatedly criticized Commissioner Goodell for serving as judge, jury and executioner in punishing those involved. Oh, and appellate judge, too. Now the NFLPA is suing the NFL, meaning we'll get another NFL offseason filled with litigation and accusations of misconduct on both sides. Fun times!
The gist of the lawsuit is that Goodell is a no-good, unfair whiny-pants who had already judged Saints players to be guilty before he served as the arbiter in their case. Pretty strong point. Then again, if those players hadn't been giving and receiving money as a reward for injuring players, we wouldn't be in this position.
Like I said, this lawsuit serves mostly to hide the long-term issues facing the NFL, but it will be important in determining what sort of role Roger Goodell plays in future disciplinary proceedings. If that role is anything other than "Yuge Douchebag," we'll have made progress.
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