Those who are charged with protecting the various interests that make up the National Football League may be feeling a little confused and conflicted over the bounty scandal.
You have the NFL Players Association declaring last week it is going to conduct its own investigation into charges that the New Orleans Saints had a bounty system run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
“If the facts prove that players voluntarily and willingly participated in conduct that jeopardized health and safety, we will work with them and the league to put in place additional safeguards to prevent this in the future,” the union said in a released statement.
But this means union brother vs. union brother. To protect its members, the union has to investigate its members. And how vigorous can the union be about protecting the “health and safety” of its members when a number of its members have publicly either defended the bounty practice or dismissed the reaction to the scandal.
Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco declared it was “just football.” Lions safety Chris Harris said bounty systems were business as usual in the NFL.
“I think that’s been going on way longer than I’ve been in the league,” Harris told the Detroit Free Press.
Some, like the Steelers’ Ryan Clark, were upset with the source of the news — not the practice itself.
“Whoever is snitching on the Saints D should be ashamed of themselves,” he tweeted. “No one was talking about bounty when they got paid.”
This is the quandary of the union that seeks to protect its players. This isn’t a matter of negotiating practices with pads or some other bargaining issue.
This is protecting players from themselves.
You think the NFLPA is in a tough spot. What about the NFL Coaches Association?
Will the association stand by one of its own in Williams and Saints coach Sean Payton, who has admitted he was aware of the bounty program?
Here is the statement the executive director of the NFL Coaches Association released on the bounty scandal:
“Coach Gregg Williams’ acknowledgment that there is no place in the game for bounties intended to injure opposing players is consistent with the view of the NFL Coaches Association. As this matter unfolds, I will work with our executive committee to protect the interests of individual coaches without compromising the NFLCA’s fundamental belief that fair play and sportsmanship begins with the men who teach the game.”
Who made this statement? High profile sports attorney David Cornwell, just hired two weeks ago as the executive director of the association. It’s the same David Cornwell who recently declared one of his clients — accused baseball cheater Ryan Braun — was “properly vindicated.”
I wouldn’t count Gregg Williams out just yet.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
