Does Sean Payton do anything to try and clear his name?
Well, as I stated in another thread, this isn't about whether or not a Bounty System was in place. And it isnt about whether or not Payton lied to Goodell. This is about Goodell performing the proverbial CYA for two reasons:
1.) In an increasingly litigious society, and in the reality that has been constructed with the former players complaining about the injuries they sustained, Goodell feels like he has an obligation to purvey an illusion of safety to all onlooking eyes.
Lets not forget that Congress has even lent their greedy and deceitful collective eyes to the injury issue in the NFL. The punishment handed down by Goodell has all the features of a reactionary punishment completely out of proportion with the act.
This stinks of government interference, or at the very least, pressure.
2.) Goodell is, for all intents and purposes, the head of the NFL. He is obligated to maximize profits. With offensive stars running the league, and a 16 game schedule becoming increasingly "too short", Goodell knows that where there are games being played with Offenses throwing points on the board like darts in bar, profit increases.
This entire thing stinks of a set-up, cover-up, and a screw-up.
If I were Payton, I would come out swinging. Payton went from being the coach who brought N.O. its first Super Bowl Title, to the only coach in NFL History to get banned for an entire year.
Money gets spent. Legacy lives in infamy.