Tag: statement

Sean Payton not holding his breath on NFL investigation into James Harrison’s claims

Saints coach Sean Payton was unimpressed when asked about a potential Steelers bounty system involving James Harrison and Mike Tomlin.

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Many years have passed by since NFL commissioner Roger Goodell brought the hammer down on the New Orleans Saints during the “Bountygate” scandal, but Saints coach Sean Payton is just as angry now as he was then. Payton made an appearance on 105.7 The Fan with Jason La Canfora, taking the opportunity to talk shop on the strange 2020 offseason, his loaded quarterbacks room, the NFL’s abandonment of pass interference reviews, and curious comments recently made by former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

During a guest spot on the “Going Deep” podcast with Willie Colon, Harrison relayed a story from his Steelers days in which he was fined $75,000 by the league for an illegal hit on Cleveland Browns Mohamed Massaquoi back in 2010. Later on, Harrison claimed, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin handed him an envelope.

Harrison declined to say what it contained, but team president Art Rooney II felt the need to speak out against Harrison’s claim to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, saying: “I am very certain nothing like this ever happened. I have no idea why James would make a comment like this but there is simply no basis for believing anything like this.”

The implication, of course, is that Harrison was hinting at a similar bounty system to the one Payton and his team were ostracized for back in 2012. That wouldn’t be very surprising. Brett Favre was one of the players supposedly targeted by the Saints defense in the 2009 NFC title game, making it awkward when he admitted his Minnesota Vikings practiced an identical strategy.

As for Payton: he’s not expecting an investigation like the one his organization was subjected to now that the Steelers are drawing scrutiny.

Payton said in his radio spot, “If people are waiting for the league to investigate that, they shouldn’t hold their breath. I think what took place with us back in (2012) in so many ways was a sham, and yet there wasn’t a lot we could do with it.”

The damage was already done, even if Goodell’s predecessor and appointed independent arbiter, Paul Tagliabue, overturned the player suspensions connected to the scandal. From Payton’s perspective, the spotlight put on his team was a one-off opportunity for the NFL to grandstand about player safety and make a scapegoat out of his team.

Payton continued, acknowledging that he has his own ax to grind with the higher-ups in New York: “I would be shocked (if the league investigates Pittsburgh). That’ll be something that’s tucked away under the rug (in the NFL league offices) at Park Avenue. They’ll look into it briefly.

“Listen, don’t get me started on that. I lost $6 million in salary, and honestly it was something that I’ll never truly get over because I know how it was handled and how it was run and the reasons behind it. That’s just the truth.”

We’ll see if Payton’s predictions come true. But while it’s early, it doesn’t appear the NFL is gearing up for a deep dive into the Steelers organization the way it once took aim at New Orleans.

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XFL issues statement, regrets officiating error in Dragons vs. Roughnecks game

The XFL issued an official statement following the controversial, Week 5 finish between the Seattle Dragons and the Houston Roughnecks.

Saturday’s XFL game pitting the Seattle Dragons against the Houston Roughnecks resulted in a controversial finish the league now “regrets.”

Following the Dragons’ loss in Houston, the XFL released an official statement, reading as an apology.

“Today’s Seattle Dragons-Houston Roughnecks game should not have ended as it did. Replays showed clearly that the knee of Houston quarterback P.J. Walker touched the field, rendering him ‘down’ and the fourth-down play officially completed, with approximately two seconds remaining on the clock – effectively turning the ball over to Seattle on downs. With a nine-point differential in the score, Seattle was denied an opportunity to tie the game. The XFL sincerely regrets this error.

In addition, Wes Booker, who served as Officiating Supervisor for today’s game, has been reassigned.”

The XFL did not make mention of Booker’s “reassignment” duties in the statement.

Seattle fell to Houston 32-23 Week 5 and now sits at last place in the XFL West.

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NFL players receive ballots, have through March 12 to vote on new CBA

NFL owners have approved a new collective bargaining agreement and ballots have now been sent to players who have until March 12 to ratify.

In February, NFL owners approved terms on a new collective bargaining agreement that will govern through the 2030 season. The next step in the process is player voting for ratification.

The NFLPA issued a statement to that effect on Thursday morning.

“The NFLPA has sent out official ballots to every NFL player who was a dues paying member in the 2019 season to cast their vote on a new collective bargaining agreement,” the statement begins. “As outlined in our constitution, ratification of a new deal is subject to approval by a majority of our members who vote.”

“Player ballots will be confidential and will be received by an independent auditor to ensure the integrity of the process,” the statement continues. “We encourage every NFL player to review the full collective bargaining agreement and exercise their democratic right to vote.”

Because the agreement is 456 pages long, players will have until March 12 at 8:59 p.m. PT to scour the paperwork and cast their ballots. Only a simple majority is required for ratification.

You can read the entire proposed CBA here.

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Gayle Benson issues statement amid Saints’ involvement in Catholic abuse lawsuit

New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson released a statement regarding her team’s involvement in a lawsuit against the local Catholic Church.

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New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson released a lengthy statement regarding the team’s involvement in a lawsuit against the local Catholic Archdiocese, detailing her relationship with Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond and the actions taken by Saints team personnel.

A lawsuit was recently filed against the Archdiocese alleging systemic abuse by clergy, and the Saints were implicated as having gone to court to protect email correspondence with the Church during a report from the Associated Press. A later report from the plaintiffs’ attorneys provided alleged details about the involvement of Saints staffers such as Greg Bensel, the senior vice president of communications.

In her statement, Benson confirmed that Bensel was asked to help the Church’s communications staff and that she has no regrets about the recommendations he made. She also dismissed the report that any Saints personnel were involved in choosing which accused clergy’s names should be made public back in 2018. However, she doubled down on the decision to involve the Saints in the situation with the Church.

Benson wrote, “We are proud of the role we played and yes, in hindsight, we would help again to assist the Archdiocese in its ability to publish the list with the hope of taking this step to heal the community. In addition, we already turned over every email to the court and plaintiff attorneys.”

Later, attorneys representing the plaintiffs responded in a brief statement to The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, refuting Benson’s account of the events:

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New allegations detail Saints’ involvement in Catholic abuse crisis

The New Orleans Saints are involved in a lawsuit against the Catholic church, and new allegations suggest the team’s role was significant.

The New Orleans Saints recently were involved in a lawsuit against the local Roman Catholic diocese, which alleges the team actively helped cover up years-long systemic sexual abuse by clergy. Jim Mustian of the Associated Press reported Thursday that the lawyers representing abuse victims detailed the Saints’ role in the still-developing story.

“This goes beyond public relations,” accused the plaintiffs’ attorneys, “The Saints appear to have had a hand in determining which names should or should not have been included on the pedophile list.”

While the Saints have maintained that their role was limited to assisting with public relations work surrounding the allegations and lawsuit, these latest claims characterize hundreds of emails between the Saints organization and the church as helping to determine which alleged abusers’ names should be made public. Plaintiffs claim that multiple Saints staffers are involved, including Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel. Whether Bensel acted on his own or under the instruction of team owner Gayle Benson is unclear; both are ardent supporters of the church and friends of Archbishop Gregory Aymond.

In 2018, the church released a list of 57 clergy credibly accused of abuse, but eight new names have since been added. The Associated Press report suggests at least 20 more clergy members should have been included. And that runs against the Saints’ own explanations of their role in the events.

These new allegations follow a Wednesday report from The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan that the NFL is not investigating the Saints for their involvement with the church regarding the lawsuit and the incidents that prompted it. The Saints are fighting in court to keep 200-plus emails exchanged between the team and the diocese private, arguing that the documents should not be made public so long as the trial remains private. Kaplan adds that the NFL does not plan on investigating the Saints unless those emails are made public and reveal actions that would violate the league’s personal conduct policy.

We’re early in this process, and this is very much a developing story. Check this space for updates in the days ahead.

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Saints issue statement regarding involvement with Catholic abuse scandal

The New Orleans Saints released a statement following an Associated Press report regarding their involvement in a Catholic abuse lawsuit.

A report from the Associated Press revealed that the New Orleans Saints are involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the local Catholic archdiocese, in which two dozen men have accused the church in being complicit in systemic abuse over past decades. The Saints’ role in court proceedings lies in 200-plus emails exchanged between team personnel and members of the archdiocese, including correspondence with Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel.

Hours after this first AP report, the Saints released their own statement on what’s going on, characterizing their message to the archdiocese as an offering of full transparency and cooperation with law enforcement. Specifically, their core message read, “The advice was simple and never wavering. Be direct, open and fully transparent, while making sure that all law enforcement agencies were alerted.”

We’re just now getting very early insight into what will be a lengthy legal process, so the contents of the documents the Saints are trying to prevent from being made public is unclear. It’s too soon to speculate about what impact — if any — this will make on the organization at large, whether it means staffing changes, potential discipline per the NFL personal conduct policy, or Gayle Benson’s ownership of the team. We just don’t have enough facts to guess right now, and neither does anyone else. So check this space for updates in the near future.

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