The New Orleans Saints have been involved in court filings against the local Roman Catholic archdiocese, with allegations that hundreds of emails from within the Saints organization show that team personnel helped assist the archdiocese with public relations in the aftermath of the church’s sexual abuse crisis, according to a Friday report by The Associated Press.
Attorneys representing two dozen plaintiffs wrote in a court filing, “Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the Archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia. The Saints realize that if the documents at issue are made public, this professional sports organization also will be smearing itself.”
Saints attorneys argued against the suggestion that the Saints acted as an organization in assisting the archdiocese, claiming that any email correspondence was private and should not be released as “fodder for the public.” Team staff allegedly implicated in these emails include Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel.
Team owner Gayle Benson’s connections to the archdiocese run deep; she is lifelong friends with Archbishop Gregory Aymond, who often accompanies her to games and assisted in her late husband Tom Benson’s funeral proceedings. She is devoutly Catholic and frequently donates to the church.
As of Friday, the Saints have declined to make any public comments. It is unclear whether the team will face any repercussions from the NFL for potential violations of its personal conduct policy. This is very much a developing situation, and what it means for the Saints as a team or for key personnel remains to be seen. Stay tuned for updates.