Saints charged with bounty crimes

BY BARRY WILNER | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — New Orleans Saints players and at least one assistant coach maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons to reward game-ending injuries inflicted on opposing players, including Brett Favre and Kurt Warner, the NFL said Friday.

“Knockouts” were worth $1,500 and “cart-offs” $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

The NFL said the pool amounts reached their height in 2009, the year the Saints won the Super Bowl.

The league said between 22 and 27 defensive players were involved in the program and that it was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, with the knowledge of coach Sean Payton.

Williams apologized for his role, saying: “It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it.”

No punishments have been handed out, but they could include suspension, fines and loss of draft picks.

The NFL said the findings were corroborated by multiple, independent sources during an investigation by the league’s security department.

Players contributed cash to the pool, at times large amounts, and in some cases the money pledged was directed against a specific person, the NFL said.

“The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for ‘performance,’ but also for injuring opposing players,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.”

All payouts for specific performances in a game, including interceptions or causing fumbles, are against NFL rules. The NFL also warns teams against such practices before each season.

“It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated,” Goodell said. “We have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent. We have more work to do and we will do it.”

Asked about potential criminal charges, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said:

“We believe that any violation of league rules should and will be handled by the commissioner.”

“Cart-offs” are defined by the NFL as a player being carried off the field; “knockouts” as when a player cannot return to the game.

The league absolved Saints owner Tom Benson of any blame, but said the investigation showed Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis knew about the “pay for performance” program.

“Although head coach Sean Payton was not a direct participant in the funding or administration of the program, he was aware of the allegations, did not make any detailed inquiry or otherwise seek to learn the facts, and failed to stop the bounty program. He never instructed his assistant coaches or players that a bounty program was improper and could not continue,” the NFL said.

When informed about it earlier this year, the NFL said Benson directed Loomis to “ensure that any bounty program be discontinued immediately.” However, the NFL’s report said evidence showed Loomis didn’t carry out Benson’s directions and that in 2010 Loomis denied any knowledge of a bounty program.

“There is no evidence that Mr. Loomis took any effective action to stop these practices,” the NFL said.

Williams, hired as defensive coordinator by the Rams in January, is known for coaching aggressive defenses that try to intimidate opponents. He has said he won’t punish players if they’re flagged for late hits or unnecessary roughness, as long as the penalty resulted from aggression, not “stupidity.”

“Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role,” Williams said Friday. “I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again.”

The NFL found no evidence of similar bounty programs within the league, but several Redskins told The Washington Post that Williams had a similar system as defensive coordinator for the team.

Former defensive end Philip Daniels, now Washington’s director of player development, said he believed Williams paid off big hits with fines collected from players for being late to meetings or practices..

“Rather than pocket that money or whatever, he would redistribute it to players who had good games or good practices,” said Daniels, who added the most he received was $1,500 for a four-sack game against Dallas in 2005.

“I think it is wrong the way they’re trying to paint (Williams),” Daniels told the Post. “He never told us to go out there and break a guy’s neck or break a guy’s leg. It was all in the context of good, hard football.”

Benson responded to the NFL’s report saying: “I have been made aware of the NFL’s findings relative to the ‘Bounty Rule’ and how it relates to our club. I have offered and the NFL has received our full cooperation in their investigation. While the findings may be troubling, we look forward to putting this behind us and winning more championships in the future for our fans.”

The NFL’s most infamous bounty case occurred in 1989 when Eagles coach Buddy Ryan was accused of putting a bounty on Cowboys players.

On Thanksgiving Day, Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson accused Ryan of putting a bounty on Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman and placekicker Luis Zendejas before a 27-0 Philadelphia victory. Ryan and his players denied the charges, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue found no evidence of wrongdoing.

The NFL began its Saints investigation in early 2010 after allegations surfaced that quarterbacks Warner of Arizona and Favre of Minnesota had been targeted. After interviewing several Saints who denied the bounty program existed and after the player who originally made the allegations recanted, the league couldn’t prove anything.

However, Goodell said the NFL “recently received significant and credible new information and the investigation was re-opened during the latter part of the 2011 season.”

Warner, who retired after the 2009 season, responded to a fan’s comment on Twitter that even if the Saints had a bounty program a playoff hit on Warner was clean. Warner tweeted, “I would have to agree with you!!!”

“I don’t want to say that there was an attempt to injure, but I definitely think there were games where I could tell you that it seemed that they went beyond what was normal in regard to when they were going to hit me or how they were going to hit me,” Warner said on the NFL Network. “Again, not with the intention necessarily of hurting me, but knocking me out of my game to get me to think about things differently. If by chance they hit me and knocked me out of the game, maybe that’s a benefit for them.”

Favre’s agent, Bus Cook, said he was unaware of the investigation until Friday. He said the Saints should have been penalized for several hard, late hits during the 2009 NFC championship game and that he believed the contact was not coincidental.

“It was pretty obvious that the intent was to take Brett out of the game, and it happened the week before with Kurt Warner, too,” Cook said. “I don’t know anything about whether it was by design or whatever, but I think a lot of people shared that same viewpoint that there were some hits that didn’t get called.”

Cook, however, said Favre never suggested to him he was maliciously targeted.

“That’s part of football, getting hit,” Cook said. “Brett never complained to me one way or another.”

After the news broke Friday, tackle Joe Staley of the San Francisco 49er tweeted: “Just seeing all the reports about the Saints D. I knew there was something fishy about getting punched in the face during our playoff game”

The 49ers beat the Saints 36-32 in the NFC divisional playoffs.

RAY RICE GETS FRANCHISE TAG FROM RAVENS

BALTIMOR — Ray Rice has been designated the franchise player of the Baltimore Ravens, who hope to buy some time while negotiating a lengthy deal for the two-time Pro Bowl running back.

Rice’s contract expired after a season in which he amassed an NFL-best 2,068 yards from scrimmage and helped the Ravens advance to the AFC championship game.

As a franchise running back, Rice will earn $7.7 million in 2012. Baltimore, however, intends to have him around a lot longer.

Last September, Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata traded his franchise tag for a five-year, $61 million contract. Rice would like to follow a similar path.

Soon after Baltimore’s loss to New England in the AFC title game, Rice said, “I’m not going to complain about the franchise tag, but I prefer the long-term. That’s what Baltimore, the city, the fans, would love to know — that Ray Rice is going to be here, not just one year, but for many years to come.”

Rice scored a franchise-record 15 touchdowns in 2011 to go with a career-best 1,364 yards rushing. He also led Baltimore with 76 catches (for 704 yards).

BROWNS TAG KICKER PHIL DAWSON

CLEVELAND — Phil Dawson’s career is still kickin’ with the Browns.

The dependable Dawson, who has been with Cleveland since its 1999 expansion season, will spend another year with the club after the Browns decided to use their franchise tag on the 37-year-old.

A team spokesman confirmed the plans to use the tag on Friday.

It’s the second straight year the Browns have franchised Dawson, who made $3.25 million last season and will make 20 percent more — roughly $3.8 million — next season, his 14th in a logo-less orange helmet. If they hadn’t used the tag on Dawson he would have become an unrestricted free agent later this month.

The Browns may still try to sign the steady Dawson to a long-term contract. He’s coming off one of his best seasons, making 24 of 29 field-goal attempts and seven from beyond 50 yards, one shy of the NFL record.

NEW YORK GIANTS RE-SIGN INJURED WR HIXON

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The New York Giants have re-signed wide receiver Domenik Hixon.

Hixon missed most of last season after surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was hurt making a touchdown catch against the St. Louis Rams in the second week of the season.

Contract terms were not immediately available, but Hixon gives the Giants another option if Super Bowl hero Mario Manningham is not re-signed.

Hixon has missed most of the last two seasons with knee injuries The six-year veteran can return kickoffs and punts. He missed 2010 after being hurt in a noncontact drill in the Giants’ first practice at MetLife Stadium.

The Giants now have 20 players who can become unrestricted free agents this month.

49ERS PLACE FRANCHISE TAG ON SAFETY GOLDSON

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco 49ers used the franchise tag for safety Dashon Goldson on Friday, giving them the right to match any offer Goldson receives from elsewhere.

The move by the NFC West champions makes sure the team is compensated if Goldson — who had been set to become an unrestricted free agent March 13 — signs with another franchise.

General manager Trent Baalke said the team can still attempt to sign Goldson to a long-term deal but at least knows he is expected to be with the Niners again in 2012.

STEELERS CUTTING LB FARRIOR, DE SMITH

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers continued their offseason roster purge Friday, announcing veteran linebacker James Farrior and defensive end Aaron Smith will be released before the next league year begins March 13.

Farrior and Smith served as the backbone of a defense that led the franchise to two Super Bowl titles and three AFC championships over the last decade, a period in which the Steelers defense finished ranked in the top 10 in the league every season.