Ban Gregg Williams, Sean Payton for life and take their Super Bowl victory away
Former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is the dirtiest coach in sports history. What he did in advocating injuring and maiming players makes Pete Rose look like the real Saint when it comes to those who manage and coach teams.
Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon’s recently released audio speaks for itself. Williams asked his defense to injure San Francisco players Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis and others. “Kill the head, the body will die,” was Williams mantra to this team.
Not just injure but go after their head even when the play was over. Maim them. Take out an ACL.
Unbelievable.
What’s more unbelievable is that no one on the 53-man roster said anything. What’s more unbelievable is that head coach Sean Payton claims he knew nothing. What’s even more unbelievable is that owner Tom Benson claims to know nothing. And finally the argument that this was just an isolated incident or metaphors of vulgar speech during a brief period of time can be summed up in one word: Hogwash.
Williams’ alleged bounty ledger now shows this was going on in 2009. Yahoo! Sports reported Williams paid $1,000 for cart-offs, $400 for whacks and $100 deductions for mental errors.
So what’s the NFL going to do? For now it suspended both Sean Payton and Williams, but it’s time to do something more.
If this was a college team, the college coaches would be banned for life. If this was a college team with a national championship, it would be forced to forfeit it’s trophy. If this was a college team, it would be suspended for at least the upcoming year and no bowl games for some time. And the NCAA would explain they are sending a message and the kids would get it.
But this is about money.
This is about golden boy QB Drew Brees negotiating for a new contract and using leverage. He knew did nothing and tried to control when this audio would be released so it would benefit him. It should have been released the second you heard about it, Brees. You have no excuse. (And Brees you deserve millions for your play on the field, but in the book of character, you lost the respect of millions — and that should be worth more to you than walking away with a bundle of cash. You should take the raise you eventually get and give it to a whistleblower organization that protects courageous people who come forward.)
If there were any coach with any guts, he would bench you for a few games for failing to be a standup leader during a prolonged behavior by a coach in what really can be described in one word – criminal. On that audio Williams advocated assault and battery with the intent to maim and paid players who accomplished that. That’s a crime in every single state. Go pay someone to maim your neighbor and let’s see how long it will take for the police to come knocking on your door. That’s what Williams advocated to do on the audio tape and got away with it.
How many players were witnesses and did nothing because Brees, their leader turned the other way? Brees knew if he reported it, his coach would be in trouble so he tried to cover it up by trying to delay the release of that tape. That means he knew what Williams did was wrong. What a great example for his young son. You didn’t want to report it for selfish reasons. That’s what cowards do.
Does anyone have any courage? Does the commissioner Roger Goodell? We will see soon because commissioner this is your Pete Rose case.
Take a stand for the fans, for the children who grow up with dreams of playing ball. Don’t miss this opportunity to send the strongest message that can be sent. Issue the following:
- Ban Payton and Williams for life from the NFL.
- Suspend the Saints season for one year.
- Strip the team of its 2010 Super Bowl Championship.
Do the right thing. We all felt good when the Saints won the Super Bowl, especially for the fans who suffered and lost so much during Katrina. But these alleged actions by Williams and the Saints are of a criminal nature. They are an assault on not just players, but on the league and to fans and to the player’s families.
Do what’s right, Mr. Goodell. Don’t follow the money. Follow the rules. Respect the integrity of the game and turn the evidence over to prosecutors.
Timothy W. Maier is the founder of Baltimore Post-Examiner LLC, which runs the Baltimore and Los Angeles Post-Examiner websites. He started out writing music, fiction and poetry and then turned to news writing, where he spent the past three decades at news organizations in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. He was the managing editor at the Baltimore Examiner newspaper. He now spends time with his family, dog, guitar and riding his motorcycle across the country.
How true. Now he has a new job. No more talk of this horror.