NFL gave Vilma a sworn affidavit from Gregg Williams stating Vilma offered $10k to knock out Favre (4 Viewers)

[Saint Skippy]

New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Vilma meets with commissioner Roger Goodell - ESPN

There are additional details about the evidence here.

 

[BoNcHiE]

Gregg Williams, based on what he has to lose, holds no credibility on this issue.

If this were a court of law such a piece of "evidence" would be torn apart.

 

[Seapea]

Interesting...

 

[Jeff Miller]

I don't think a affidavit in and of itself is damning evidence.

Its basically Greg Williams making a statement and claiming to be truthful. The question then is how trustworthy is Greg Williams statement? It could be false, it could be truthful, it could have been coerced, it might have been part of a quid pro quo (as in Goodellwould reinstate him after a year if he admited to it).

Obviously since Goddell is judge and jury and investigator, he's choose to accept GW's statement as evidence. In the court of Goodell, that enough. In a court of law, i would guess Ginsberg would have to call Greg Williams to court and put him on the stand and hope he disputes the signed statement.

Now more than ever, i see Goodell reissuing all the suspensions again. And if this is true, Greg Williams is a real ******bag for selling out his players that he put into a questionable situation.

 

[diehardfan]

The NFL needs to have someone else corroborate GW's claim or it doesn't mean ****.

 

[billinms]

New Orleans Saints' Jonathan Vilma meets with commissioner Roger Goodell - ESPN

There are additional details about the evidence here.

A few more details. If I read this right, the affidavit still supports the players contention that Goodell doesn't have authority to suspend them.

Williams, according to the source, said he knew the pool violated league rules, but they never had the intent to injure or commit any on-field misconduct, they never rewarded any conduct that the refs flagged as a penalty, and any penalized conduct -- such as roughing the passer, or an illegal hit, was penalized -- not encouraged -- and the player responsible had to pay money into the pool.

 

[Saint Droopy]

Yeah right... Gregg Williams signed that sworn affidavit just like he "wrote" that bogus apology after this thing broke.

The NFL is FOS.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

Williams, according to the source, said he knew the pool violated league rules, but they never had the intent to injure or commit any on-field misconduct, they never rewarded any conduct that the refs flagged as a penalty, and any penalized conduct -- such as roughing the passer, or an illegal hit, was penalized -- not encouraged -- and the player responsible had to pay money into the pool.

so, the document that Goodell is using to prove his case against Vilma also refutes all his other allegations about the Saints bounty pool. has he stepped in it now?

 

[superlaser]

so, the document that Goodell is using to prove his case against Vilma also refutes all his other allegations about the Saints bounty pool. has he stepped in it now?

Exactly. Even if you accept Williams's statement as truthful, the NFL is still in the wrong in a lot of ways. Williams clearly says the "program" was pay for performance only, which is Burbank's jurisdiction, and that Vilma's 10k on the table was an isolated incident. In that case, you might be able to make a case for suspending Vilma, but where's the evidence linking Hargrove, Smith, Fujita, Payton, Vitt, or Loomis to anything bounty related?

Again, that's only if one were to concede that Williams's statement is truthful even though his credibility is nil.

 

[bigl]

i remember ed werder months ago on espn saying that williams gave vilma the 10K and told him to do that as a way to rally the team. so when vilma said he's never put any money in he's not lying but i guess that could be what williams is talking about.

 

[MsMSSaintsFan]

I hope GW is ready to spend some time in jail for perjury because that is where he will be heading when he gets back from his little backpacking trip.

 

[Wheryat]

No wonder GW is backpacking in Malaysia.....

 

[Aiy Rock]

Vitt, Brees, and Lord knows how many others have sworn affidavits that were turned into federal court saying there was no intent to injure...'knock outs' happen in the game so...in the end...Goodell got what he wanted...a giant setback for our team...we lost two games we would have won had we had no distraction of this magnitude

mad props for Vilma stickin this out though

 

[HoustonSaint68]

I totally agree with your point, but from Williams' point of view, isn't the chance of getting some sort of NFL job better than the certainty of never being reinstated?

Yes, assuming Williams is a gutless coward with no morals or ethics (which I believe he is). It's one thing to throw a bad actor under the bus -- personally, I've never bought into the supposed honor of not ratting out a bad guy. But when you were the cause of the activity and THEN ratting someone out?? Jeez, there's a special place in hell for people like that and he ain't gonna find salvation from that in Thailand.

No thanks -- the ONLY thing that anyone has that cannot be taken away but must be given is integrity.

 

[BoNcHiE]

A few more details. If I read this right, the affidavit still supports the players contention that Goodell doesn't have authority to suspend them.

So it was a PFP pool with no intent to injure anyone.

Goodell has no leg to stand on if this is the best he's got.