U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is “calling off a proposed hearing on bounties in professional sports because he is satisfied with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's response to the issue, including setting up an anonymous hotline,” according to the AP. Durbin yesterday met with Goodell in DC and said, "What I hear from them now is, it's going to be clear: The actions that have been taken against some are going to be taken against others if they violate these basic rules that are being established. What more could I accomplish with a law? This is better." Among the steps that “persuaded Durbin to abandon a hearing: Posters will be put in locker rooms about bounties and will include information for a hotline so players can report bounty-related activity, and there will be a new bounty section in the players' handbook.” Goodell will also “write a letter to all league and team employees and an email to registered NFL fans regarding bounties.” Durbin said that NCAA President Mark Emmert “also came to Washington to discuss the issue, and the NCAA will set up an anonymous phone number to report bounty programs” (AP, 6/20). After his meeting, Durbin said that the NFL’s response to bounties allegedly paid to Saints players “has been sufficient” (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 6/20). The NFLPA released a statement following the meeting that said, “The players hope and expect that the Commissioner and the Senator will commit to a hearing on health and safety in the NFL in the near future” (NFLPA). PRO FOOTBALL TALK’s Mike Florio noted Goodell’s message “did enough to persuade Durbin to scuttle a plan to conduct a full-blown hearing on bounties in pro sports.” Moving forward, it will be “interesting to see whether the tip line is used to report actual bounty systems, or whether disgruntled players will embellish the facts in order to cause problems” (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 6/20).
RELATIONSHIP ISSUES: As focus continues on Goodell's power in the bounty case, CBSSPORTS.com’s Jason La Canfora wrote Goodell's "drastic punishments have only enhanced the NFLPA's rank-and-file's rancor about the extent of the commissioner's powers. Of course, with the new CBA doing little to mute Goodell's authority on off-field discipline, this will be an uphill battle, but the quest is on.” The CBA deal that ended the lockout “clearly didn't resolve all" the issues. There has been “little progress on HGH talks, and I would be stunned if there will be any budging by the players on that anytime soon.” The legacy of the CBA deal "could end up being as much about the differences that lingered on as much [as] all that was sorted out.” La Canfora: “I can't say I blame the NFLPA for bucking the league on the bounty saga” (CBSSPORTS.com, 6/20). YAHOO SPORTS’ Doug Farrar wrote under the header, “Some Players Regretting And Resenting NFLPA’s Concessions In Current CBA.” Farrar: “If you don't like the justice handed down by Goodell and [NFL Exec VP/Labor & General Counsel] Jeff Pash, you can always appeal to ... Goodell and Jeff Pash” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/20). USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell noted how Saints LB Jonathan Vilma is “taking a swing" in a civil suit filed in U.S. District Court, alleging Goodell "made false, defamatory statements that are injurious to his reputation.” If Vilma “somehow prevails, it likely wouldn’t alter the suspensions” imposed on him, but “just getting to court would provide more truth in the bounty scandal.” Bell: “And perhaps, finally, closure” (USA TODAY, 6/20).
COSTAS QUESTIONS THE PA’S ROLE: NBC Sports Network’s Bob Costas questioned the NFLPA’s approach in a question to Florio about the bounty case. Costas: “Everyone who’s been accused of whatever the offense is -- is entitled to a competent defense. That’s part of the role of a Players’ Association, but does the NFLPA run the risk of being perceived the way the baseball Players’ Association ultimately was perceived? Which is being blind to fairness and justice and being blind to the best interest of their larger membership?” Costas continued, “It seems as if the Players’ Association is also doing everything it can to obstruct HGH testing. This isn’t playing well in the court of public opinion.” Florio: “The NFLPA has some persuasive arguments regarding the overall process and procedure, but there’s a point where you have to step back from that and say, ‘What is the broader message that comes out of this? Are we in a hopeless conflict of interest between the folks who are accused of having the bounty system and the men who were the targets of those bounties?' ... For now, the NFLPA is focused very, very zealously and aggressively on trying to establish that the players are innocent.” Costas then asked, “Does the league have a fundamental problem that at some point could actually serve to undermine its seemingly unassailable popularity?” Florio: “There is a point where the snowball becomes unwieldy and if at some point we see a reduction in TV ratings, more and more teams having trouble selling tickets to their games, if we see any type of a decline in the popularity of the sport, then you have to wonder whether this 365-day-a-year reality show which is the NFL has become more of a problem than it’s worth” (“Costas Tonight,” NBC Sports Network, 6/20).
