As Ronald Reagan once said to Jimmy Carter in a debate, “Now there you go again.” The same can be said for the Rams and the NFL.
The Rams hired Gregg Williams to coach the defense. Little did we know that Williams was one who thought paying a player to knock an opponent out of the game or seriously injure a player so he could no longer play was a good idea. For those who have heard the word “bounty” lately, it should not be confused with that hillbilly squad that has made it to reality TV, but to taking someone off the field. Highly illegal, immoral and just plain dumb.
While bounties have been in play for pro sports for years, it was unspoken outside of a locker room. In this case, someone wanted to talk and talk they did. Dumb, but then again I am speaking about the NFL where many players, past and present, are just flat-out clueless.
This is a league where the players have the shortest shelf life and lowest average pay. A league where the players are too dumb to fight for more guarantees and health benefits after they are done playing. Instead, they thought they would fight to not have to play more games and reduce practice time. A league that until recently did nothing for former players.
As for the league, Commissioner Roger Goodell has been advocating more safety for players as he has extracted millions for players in fines for flagrant fouls. I wonder where he will line up on this one, as there is evidence that even the owner knew his coaches were breaking the rules. By the way, the commissioner is employed by the owners. I am not confident that justice will be served here, so I will make some suggestions to help Mr. Goodell.
First off, the New Orleans Saints will be fined a half-million dollars that will go to either the retired players fund or to head trauma research. The Saints will also forfeit a first-round pick this season and a third-round pick either next year or the year after.
As for their head coach Sean Peyton, he will be fined $1 million of the $4 million he makes annually.
As for the main culprit Gregg Williams, he will not be allowed to coach for at least one year, nor shall he have the opportunity to be employed by any companies that do business with the NFL, i.e. TV or radio networks as an analyst or consultant. Mr. Williams will also be required to do community service on behalf of the league in speaking to coaches and players on every level below the NFL at least twice a week.
If you think the bounty issue just fell out of the sky, then you are as dumb as some of the players who think the whole issue is okay. Someone somewhere was probably in big trouble about another matter and used this bounty issue as a bargaining chip to get out of whatever trouble they were in, and it must have been some trouble. Not to go conspiracy theorist here, but what could have been that big?
As for the Rams, they still cannot seem to get out of their own way. Obviously, hiring Williams was a mistake in the first place. The question is who knew what and when did they know it? I am sure Jeff Fisher and the powers that be were not made aware of this on the day the rest of us found out. Could that be the reason why the Rams hired former head coach and former defensive coordinator Dave McGinnis? As a fallback plan in the event the Williams story was too hot for him to stay in the Rams kitchen?
As for you Rams fans who thought the New England Patriots should have been burned at the stake when they got caught cheating, will you still accept Williams because the Rams hired him and he was supposed to be one of you? Just how does that shoe fit now?
For the football apologist, save it. It will not work no matter how you try and spin it. You see, we do not get paid by the NFL or worship the shield every night before bed or whatever you do when the lights go out.
