Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon sent shock waves through the NFL world on Thursday with his decision to release audio of New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' profanity laced rant to his players prior to a January playoff game against the 49ers. In an interesting new wrinkle, Steve Gleason, the subject of Pamphilon's work, released a statement on his website on Friday that said Pamphilon was not authorized to release the audio clip of Williams' rant.
Steve Gleason Says Sean Pamphilon Was Not Authorized To Release Gregg Williams Audio Recording
From Gleason’s statement:
”Sean Pamphilon and I have an agreement that all recordings ultimately belong to me and my family, Gleason said. “Nothing can be released without my explicit approval. I did not authorize the public release of any recordings.”
Gleason, a former Saints player, and his struggle with ALS is the subject of the recordings captured by Pamphilon. Gleason began to chronicle his and his family’s dealings with the disease, and was approached by Pamphilon in the spring of 2011 to “further document” their life.
The Saints have included Gleason in their team culture, on the field and inside the locker room. They also allowed Gleason to bring Pamphilon with him in those activities.
“The Saints trusted me and gave us unlimited access in filing, and I, in turn, trusted Sean Pamphilon.”
In the statement, Gleason expressed his disappointment in Pamphilon releasing the recordings. Pamphilon originally shared them with Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports. Gleason says he will continue his project. He does not explicitly state whether or not Pamphilon will be part of that effort.
As for Gregg Williams, the damage is done. Nothing can remove Pamphilon’s, or Gleason’s as it were, recordings from the public consciousness.
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