Saints Bounty Punishments: Drew Brees 'Speechless' By Sean Payton Suspension

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has seemingly had quite an emotional offseason. Earlier this month, Brees was described as "livid" over being slapped with the franchise tag by the Saints instead of receiving a long-term contract. After NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell handed severe punishments to the organization for running a "bounty" program -- including suspensions of head coach Sean Payton for a year and ex-Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely -- the six-time Pro Bowler tweeted that he was "speechless."

@drewbrees
Drew Brees

I am speechless. Sean Payton is a great man, coach, and mentor. The best there is. I need to hear an explanation for this punishment

March 21, 2012 6:24 pm via Twitter for Android Reply Retweet Favorite

Shortly after the NFL initially revealed the pay-for-pain system in place under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Brees released a statement on his website and wrote that he "did not participate in any Bounty program."

"There is no place in the National Football League, or any sport played at any level, for players to conspire, to be coerced, or to be incentivized to intentionally injure another player. I did not participate in any Bounty program, nor did I have any knowledge relating to its real existence. I have spent the last several years as an Executive Committee Member of the NFLPA making health and safety a priority and I am proud of the advancements we've made and will continue to make."

To understand NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's reasoning behind the unprecedented punishments, Brees could start by taking another look at his own statement. Regardless, Brees is hardly the only one surprised by the league's ruling. According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (via ProFootballTalk) who interviewed Payton after the punishments were reported, the coach was "stunned" and "beside himself." Payton is suspended for a full year without pay, meaning he will lose about $7 million.

Williams, who was hired by the Rams to be their new defensive coordinator, was also surprised by the severity of the discipline and was described by St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher as "shocked but remorseful."

Williams apologized shortly after the punishments were revealed.

The Saints also released a statement on their website:

We recognize our fans’ concerns and we regret the uncertainty this episode has created for them. We are humbled by the support our organization has received from our fans today in the wake of this announcement, and we ask them to continue to stand with us, as they have done in the past, when both our team and our city have overcome greater adversities.

...

There is no place for bounties in our league and we reiterate our pledge that this will never happen again.

Goodell stood by his ruling and emphasized that the Saints lied to the league when it first started the investigation

"I don't think you can be too hard on people that put at risk our players' health and safety," Goodell said. "That is a critical issue for us going forward and has been in our past."

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Comments

[Clevelandinwi]

02:31 PM on 03/26/2012

I love how these jocks slip into the 'denial' mode - sort of like a laker fan of bryant or a cardinal fan of larussa and mcquire or --- well, you get the idea.

[MardiGrasGirl]

12:51 PM on 03/26/2012

I'm still waiting for the investigation results for the other teams that Greg Williams coached. I hope the punishment equals what Sean Payton received.

[doctorj2u]

09:39 PM on 03/24/2012

Drew will make his choice when he does or doesn't sign a contract for this year. Are you with New Orleans or against us? You know how we roll. I believe I know what will happen, but as a New Orleanian I always expect the worst.

[bahkey]

04:01 PM on 03/24/2012

So Drew what's your opinion of your teammates trying to destroy another mans career?

[doctorj2u]

08:59 PM on 03/24/2012

Look at the film. It did not happen.

[bahkey]

10:23 PM on 03/24/2012

Right,Aa clear as day I remember the way they were hitting Favre late after every pass
in playoffs 3 years ago. Cheaters

[zydecoguru]

12:41 PM on 03/24/2012

The Saints got caught doing what NFL teams have been doing for years. King Goodell knows this as he effectively dismantles the Saint's 2012 season while trying to fool the public that he is interested in player safety in a sport with a 100% injury rate while pushing for a 18 game season, Thursday nightgames, and fighting against limiting "voluntary" offseason practices.

Do the Saints deserve to be punished ? YES! They deserved to be hammered, but the punishment handed down IS NOT appropriate, and the Saints didn't deserve what they got.

And for all those people pushing the "Hypocritical gospel of Cheating" in the Saint's Super Bowl run (won fair and square), Think about this, any team winning the NFC South other than the Saints and the 2013 Superbowl Champion WILL have an asterisk (*didn't face a complete and dominate New Orleans Saints squad).

[doctorj2u]

08:58 PM on 03/24/2012

Excellent post.

[MardiGrasGirl]

12:47 PM on 03/26/2012

Well said.

[dave ochs]

10:29 AM on 03/24/2012

anybody who wants to contribute to a Drew brees bounty contact me, a season ending late hit to his knees should give him his explanation.
dave

[Mag7]

10:26 AM on 03/24/2012

When Buddy Ryan coached the Philadelphia Eagles he bragged about placing a bounty on the Cowboys kicker. The 3-13 Cowboys. Brave man that Buddy, though he forgot to challenge the Broncos or 49ers back then.

[doctorj2u]

09:00 PM on 03/24/2012

NFL= hypocrisy

[skurno]

10:10 AM on 03/24/2012

I loved to root for the Saints but no more. Sean Peyton and Greg Williams, should never be allowed to coach in the NFL again. Peyton says he's "sorry"..he is only 7 and a half million times sorry that he got caught! And if you think the team did not know this was going on too, you must like living under a rock. I am burning my Saints shirts! And for all the good Drew Brees did, he is just as guilty!

[ramkuv]

09:27 PM on 03/23/2012

Here the explanation Drew : Some of the players were paid to hit QBs like you on opposing teams. Sean Payton lied about it to the league and it happened under his watch.

[darter22]

09:06 PM on 03/23/2012

Explanation for Drew:

They conspired to pay Saints players for intentionally harming players on opposing teams. Hope that helped some. Get well soon.

[Puzzlr]

03:58 PM on 03/23/2012

One of the sports talk guys said that N.O. got a deal. They essentially paid $500,000 and two draft choices to win a Superbowl. Oh, and they are off the hook for $7 million in payments to Peyton. Sounds like a sweet deal.

[doctorj2u]

09:25 PM on 03/24/2012

Let me guess. You don't live in New Orleans.

[Puzzlr]

06:52 PM on 03/25/2012

Are you saying that the New Orleans fans don't care that this is happening to them? Are you saying that the New Orleans fans could care less about the costs of this bounty? That they aren't embarrassed? Geez.

[Nate35]

12:57 PM on 03/23/2012

Cheating destroys your credibility as a sportsman, something like this destroys your credibility as a human being. I tend to think the people who don't get why this is such a big deal have never played a full-contact sport at any level.

[DuffyShort]

10:35 AM on 03/23/2012

This is going to be like the SMU death penalty....It will never again be handed down, and you can bet that several other teams have this same issue and are scrambling right now to dismantle it....As a Saints fan I was amazed at the beating that Brett Favre took....He was the toughest quarterback that I have ever seen, based on that play-off game....Rules are rules!

[plzchuteme]

07:39 AM on 03/23/2012

If Drew Brees wants an explanation, he should be knocking on Payton's and William's doors.

[Puzzlr]

03:54 PM on 03/23/2012

Agreed!

[Hugatreetoday]

07:38 AM on 03/23/2012

Looks like the coach took the modern day gladiators tag a bit too literally.