NFL suspends four players for Saints' bounties; Jonathan Vilma gets 1-year ban

Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been suspended for the entire 2012 season and three other players were suspended for their roles in the team's prohibited bounty program that was used during the 2009-11 seasons.

In handing out the suspensions early Wednesday afternoon, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cited the fact that the four were most heavily involved as team leaders of the program, which included as many as 27 players, according to the league's investigation.

In addition to Vilma, defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Packers, was suspended eight games, Saints defensive end Will Smith was suspended four games and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, received a three-game suspension.

All the players are expected to appeal their punishment.

"It is the obligation of everyone, including the players on the field, to ensure that rules designed to promote player safety, fair play, and the integrity of the game are adhered to and effectively and consistently enforced," Goodell said in a statement. "Respect for the men that play the game starts with the way players conduct themselves with each other on the field."

Goodell had previously suspended former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely. In addition, Saints coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the 2012 season for not putting a stop to the bounty program, in which Saints players were paid to knock opposing players out of games. General manager Mickey Loomis received an eight-game suspension, assistant head coach Joe Vitt, now the interim head coach, was suspended six games, and the Saints were fined $500,000 and forfeited second-round picks in 2012 and 2013.

Goodell denied appeals for everyone except Williams, who did not appeal his punishment.

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According to the league, its investigation concluded that while he was captain of the Saints' defense, Vilma helped fund the bounty program. The league said several independent sources corroborated that Vilma offered a $10,000 bounty to any player who knocked Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner out of the 2009 divisional playoff game. He offered the same amount to anyone who knocked Vikings quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC Championship Game the following week, according to league investigators.

Vilma denied those charges and said he will appeal his punishment. The NFL Players Association hinted that the union could fight the sanctions.

"I am shocked and extremely disappointed by the NFL's decision to suspend me for the 2012 season," Vilma said in a statement. " . . . I never set out to intentionally hurt any player and never enticed any teammate to intentionally hurt another player. I also never put any money into a bounty pool or helped to create a bounty pool intended to pay out money for injuring other players."

Fujita pledged money toward the bounty pool, which paid cash rewarded for "cart-offs" and "knockouts" that caused opposing players to leave games or be carted off the field, the league said. Hargrove also participated in the program, according to investigators. He submitted a signed declaration to the NFL that established the existence of the program, and that he participated in it. Hargrove told at least one player on another team that Favre was a target of the Saints' bounty program in the NFC title game, according to the league. Hargrove also obstructed the league's 2010 investigation into the program by lying to investigators, the league said.

Smith assisted Williams in establishing and funding the program while he was captain of the defense. Fujita, Hargrove, and Smith are permitted to participate in all off-season activities, including preseason games, before the suspensions take effect at the end of the preseason.