NFL wins arbitration ruling in Saints bounty case

Published Jun 4, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Jun 4, 2012)

An arbitrator ruled this morning that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has the authority to discipline New Orleans Saints players for their role in a bounty system. The NFL Players Association challenged Goodell's power to impose penalties for what the league says was a three-year bounty program that targeted specific players. Stephen Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, took only five days to determine that Goodell has the power to punish the players under the collective bargaining agreement reached last August to end the lockout. Goodell suspended Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012 season and teammate Will Smith for four games. Former Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Packers, was suspended for eight games, while linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, was docked three games. Those players have appealed the suspensions. And the players union says this morning it expects to appeal Burbank's decision because it believes salary cap violations are involved in the payment. That would give Burbank the authority to rule on penalizing any players involved. Burbank did, however, retain temporary jurisdiction on Hargrove's role and asked Goodell for more information on Hargrove's "alleged participation." The union filed another grievance with a different arbitrator, Shyam Das, claiming the new CBA prohibits Goodell from punishing players for any conduct before the CBA was signed.