NEW ORLEANS. - On Thursday, the National Football League Players Association filed a lawsuit against the NFL in a New Orleans' federal court on behalf of the three the New Orleans Saints' players who were suspended in the bounty scandal. The players association accuses NFL Commissioner, Rodger Goodell for being "incurably and evidently biased," as reported by ESPN Sports.
The lawsuits rests on the argument that Goodell named players Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita as participants in the bounty scandal before he served as arbitrator at the hearings. And that Goodell violated the league's collective bargaining agreement.
"The investigation and arbitration process that the Commissioner's public relations machinery touted as 'thorough and fair' has, in reality, been a sham," according to the NFLPA lawsuit, as reported by ESPN.
NFL spokeman Gerg Aiello told the Associated Press, the lawsuit is an "improper attempt to litigate... there is no basis for asking a federal court to put its judgment in place of the procedures agreed upon with the NFLPA in collective bargaining. These procedures have been in place, and have served the game and players well, for many decades."
The fourth player Jonathan Vilma who is implicated in the investigation has filed a separate lawsuit against Goodell. Vilma has been suspended for one season, while Hargrove has been suspended for eight games, Smith for four games and Fujita for three. In addition the general manager Mickey Lomis has been suspended for 61 games and the defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been suspended for an indefinite period of time.
Forbes calls the NFL's actions in the scandal "the costliest punishment in the history of professional sports.
