While most of the NFL media is talking about Gregg Williams and the audio tape of his speech to the Saints defense the night before the playoff game against the 49ers last January, several members of the Saints and their coaching staff met with the NFL to appeal the suspensions handed down by Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Saints’ Sean Payton, Joe Vitt Appeal Their Case To NFL In Bounty Scandal
Saints head coach Sean Payton was spotted exiting NFL headquarters on Friday afternoon. No details of his appeal with Goodell have been reported.
Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt, who was suspended six games, met with Goodell and others. His lawyer, David Cornwell, issued a statement.
"Coach Joe Vitt and I met today with Commissioner Goodell, Jeff Pash, Adolpho Birch, and NFL security for about an hour and a half. Coach Vitt wanted to meet face to face with the Commissioner to take full responsibility for certain matters while taking the opportunity to make clear that despite inflammatory language and irresponsible conduct, New Orleans Saints' coaches did not coach and Saints' players did not play to injure their opponents. We thought the discussion was productive and informative - so, we achieved our objective."
Apparently, Vitt’s defense will include the notion that Williams went “rogue”, according to NFL.com. Cornwell said in the NFL.com report that the audio tape of Williams, which was released only hours before the appeals, were one of several examples of Williams acting on his own, despite warnings from Payton and others.
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