COLUMN: Bounty system hurts the integrity of football
It turns out the only people who can keep Peyton Manning and Tim Tebow from being the lead stories on SportsCenter are New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
It's been a colossal couple of days in the world of football. Manning, perhaps the most coveted free agent in the history of professional sports, ended up signing with John Elway's Broncos on Tuesday, bringing an abrupt end to Tebowmania in Denver. Tebow was quickly traded Wednesday to the New York Jets for a couple of draft picks.
Those two stories alone would make for a huge couple days in sports, but the suspension of Payton and others involved in a bounty scandal trumps them both and will have a long-lasting impact on the league.
From 2009 to 2011, Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ran a bounty system in New Orleans, paying players to knock high-profile players out of games by injuring them. Everyone from Payton to Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was aware of this, but no one took action.
Williams was suspended indefinitely and may never coach in the NFL again. Payton, one of the best coaches in football, was suspended for a whole season without pay. Loomis was suspended for eight games without pay. The organization was fined $500,000 and had to forfeit two second-round draft picks.
Wednesday's suspensions and fines sent shockwaves throughout the NFL, just as Goodell intended. He is sending a message that this type of behavior, which undoubtedly occurs within other organizations, will not be tolerated.
"When there is targeting of players for injury and cash rewards over a three-year period, the involvement of the coaching staff, and three years of denials and willful disrespect of the rules, a strong and lasting message must be sent that such conduct is totally unacceptable and has no place in the game," Goodell said in a statement.
Goodell has been criticized for making the NFL soft by protecting quarterbacks and other high-profile players too much. Much of that criticism is deserved, but it's hard to criticize Goodell for this decision.
Injuries are a part of football. So are big hits. There is nothing more exciting than watching a defensive player lay a huge hit on an opposing player, especially if he plays on a rival team or is a player everyone hates (*cough*Brett Favre*cough*).
Players should make those hits to turn the tide of the game, keep the opposing offense from moving and provide a boost to the team. The motivation shouldn't be to purely hurt the other player to make some money. Not only is that dirty football, but it undermines the integrity of the game. It's no longer about doing your part to help the team win. It's about making some money for yourself.
Playing tough is much different than playing dirty. Players and coaches at the professional level, especially those in Goodell's safety-first NFL, should know this.
