Bountygate: Suspended Players To Use Gregg Williams Text During Appeal

The suspended members of the New Orleans Saints will have their appeal heard by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell today at league headquarters in New York. One piece of the evidence the players intend to use is reportedly a text message sent from former Saints defense coordinator Gregg Williams to Sean Payton’s close friend, Mike Ornstein.

Ornstein sent emails from prison that he insists were jokes. The emails were offering up bounties for hits, but Goodell did not believe that the messages were light-hearted.

Ornstein now gave the NFL and NFLPA a text message that he claims to be from Williams that showed the “Bounty master’s” support of him. The text message read, per ESPN sources:

"“I stood up for you & told them just that. I told them we never took that (stuff) serious. I never ever saw you ever give $ and that’s just the truth.”"

In the end, Goodell has absolute power so it is possible that he can ignore any evidence and stand firm on his harsh stance for those involved in “Bountygate.” Hopefully, the players can eventually get a fair appeal, but it doesn’t seem to be likely in the foreseeable future.

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