Editorial: Sack NFL bounty hunters
Arizona_Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner walks off the field after being injured during the second quarter of a divisional playoff game against the New Orleans Saints (Jan. 16, 2010). Credit: AP Photo/Dave Martin
Even in the violent context of the National Football League, the news was stunning.
For the last three seasons, a New Orleans Saints coach ran an appalling bounty system that rewarded players for knocking opponents out of a game -- even while the league has been trying to bolster player safety in response to criticism and lawsuits over its handling of brain injuries.
When top Saints officials learned of the scheme, which violated both NFL rules and human decency, they didn't stop it, the league says. Some players say similar bounties were paid at other teams. The coach who presided over the Saints' payments, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, has also worked for the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.
Some players, noting that hard hits are encouraged everywhere in football, insist that bounties are simply part of a culture that unabashedly seeks to inflict hurt. But pro football takes too great a toll on players' bodies as it is, clouding brains and cutting lives short. Explicitly rewarding players to injure opponents goes too far, and sends a terrible message to young players from Pop Warner right up through college.
To the league's credit, it uncovered the Saints' shameful incentives. Now the NFL must determine how widely bounties were used, and then severely punish those who maintained or tolerated them. Even in football, some things are out of bounds.
