Should Gregg Williams be charged criminally for his bounties

[cprenegade]

I heard Darren Woodson and Mike Golic taliking about it today on ESPN radio and both acknowleged that they had heard many of the same things said in the locker room. Woodson said that pretty much the same type of speech is repeated in every locker room on every Saturday night. Golic said he was laughing at the tape becuase he had heard all of the same terms used when he was playing. What all of the players and ex-players were upset about was Williams saying that they should go after Crabtree's ACL. It is pretty much accepted that you can take the "kill" shot as long as you go high. Going low and taking out another man's knees is not acceptable. Head shots will always leave a team calling for a flag, but remember when Brady Quinn went low and cut Suggs knees out? The Ravens defense was visibly and vocally upset about that. I would bet that every defensive co-ordinator has voiced the same thing Williams did. Rex Ryan said nothing like that ever went on while he was a DC. I would bet he was lying through his teeth when he said that.

[Ravens2006]

I'm sure there are plenty of pre-game speeches / comments made that basically boil down to... "Go kick their ***** all over the field!" and we can infer that doing so means inflicting some pain.

I'd be surprised if a lot of other coaches are / were putting money in a pot and specifically calling out ACLs, ankles, and head shots. And even if head shots were considered okay before (by players and coaches) it's obvious that times are changing. Players are now looking at post-career legal action for the hits they took, and the league is going to draw their own line in the sand to protect themselves. With Williams apparently personally financing some incentives for his players to INJURE other players, as a "management" side employee of the team and by extension the league... the legal threat of that sort of practice to all 32 teams is absolutely enormous.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm inclined to think that Williams and company were going over the line and/or taking it to a level that the vast majority of other coaching staffs do not. But I tend to be the sort that thinks that when one person / team gets in trouble in sports for doing something "everyone else is doing"... chances are that they're not REALLY doing what everyone else is doing. There's probably something that makes them stand out.

[Ravens75]

I heard Darren Woodson and Mike Golic taliking about it today on ESPN radio and both acknowleged that they had heard many of the same things said in the locker room. Woodson said that pretty much the same type of speech is repeated in every locker room on every Saturday night. Golic said he was laughing at the tape becuase he had heard all of the same terms used when he was playing. What all of the players and ex-players were upset about was Williams saying that they should go after Crabtree's ACL. It is pretty much accepted that you can take the "kill" shot as long as you go high. Going low and taking out another man's knees is not acceptable. Head shots will always leave a team calling for a flag, but remember when Brady Quinn went low and cut Suggs knees out? The Ravens defense was visibly and vocally upset about that. I would bet that every defensive co-ordinator has voiced the same thing Williams did. Rex Ryan said nothing like that ever went on while he was a DC. I would bet he was lying through his teeth when he said that.

Do you think Dick LeBeau said stuff like Gregg Williams?

[Fang]

I'm starting to think that Williams SHOULD be arrested and criminally charged for his bounty program.
With the latest videos we see that his bounty program was more than just hitting players and trying to knock them out of games but included specific instruction on how to hit Frank Gore in the head and Alex Smith in the chin in order to cause injury.

While I'm not generally in favor of police involvement in sports it also should not be amnesty for assulting and potentially causing career-threatening and possibly life-altering injuries.

With the latest video the NFL should just come out and say that Greg Williams will NEVER work in a NFL capacity again (with NO possibility of re-instatement). His practices are unforgivable.

I also think a class-action lawsuit should be filed against Williams by any player that was potentially injured by a bounty placed by Williams in they suffered a long-term or career-altering injury.

IMO, Williams belongs in jail.

No, I don't think Williams should be criminally charged. But I do believe a life-time ban is appropriate.

[cprenegade]

Do you think Dick LeBeau said stuff like Gregg Williams?

LeBeau doesn't look like he is as animated or loud as a Ryan or Williams, but in his own way I am sure the message of "If you get a chance to put him out for the game, take it" found it's way into his speeches. They all did it. You didn't see anybody trying to stop Harrison's helmet to helmet contact before Goodell put out the word, did you?

[Peej7245]

Watch recordings of Ray Lewis before any game (let alone the big games) and you will hear things that will scare the wits out of you. If he doesn't say anything that could not be repeated to the Mother Superior, his intensity will make you understand how seriously he takes this "defense" thing.

Then watch the games...notice how he hits HARD, but cleanly (leads with the shoulder pads into the sternum). Ray Lewis doesn't want an opponent out of the game, he wants that opponent playing offense but with his head (and concentration) on a swivel waiting for the next hit. That is a weakened opponent.

Williams' and the Saints' problem was, according to the media, lying and covering up.

[Eastside Terp]

no ......

[AVATAR]

If congress gets involved the players will be digging in those deep pockets to pay lawyers and believe it. They will think twice about such practices. Then when the IRS sniffs blood in the water they will come calling. Looking for that 10k of un-reported income the player obviously didn't/couldn't report. And they require full disclosure. Bank accounts and mattresses will be overturned...........................lol.

Case example- Alphonse Capone........whom died in Jail.
Don't mess with the IRS or the mail truck......................

[Eastsider]

If this would make it congress the commissioner, the players union and the players you take the fifth and play the game like Ollie North. Make it a waste of congress’s time and taxpayer money. Maybe then they will stay out of business they should not be in. I know that’s a pipe dream because congress thinks they can run all aspects of our lives. The Commissioner should tell congress to F off.

[Jeebus]

Case example- Alphonse Capone........whom died in Jail.
Don't mess with the IRS or the mail truck......................

FYI - Capone did not die in jail, he died at his home in Florida.

[AVATAR]

FYI - Capone did not die in jail, he died at his home in Florida.

Your right! In his luxurious bed. I stand corrected.

[mythoughts]

If this would make it congress the commissioner, the players union and the players you take the fifth and play the game like Ollie North. Make it a waste of congress’s time and taxpayer money. Maybe then they will stay out of business they should not be in. I know that’s a pipe dream because congress thinks they can run all aspects of our lives. The Commissioner should tell congress to F off.

Who ever said to get congress involved ?

[Eastsider]

Who ever said to get congress involved ?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-nfl-bounties/

[AVATAR]

Who ever said to get congress involved ?

That would be me. It was bound too happen via looking at Congresses track record. MLB, Hockey, College teams, Boxing, have all had to answer to them. They need another reason to be slackers. When money is involved they feel an obligation to pursue any issues that may effect any possible outcome. Morality will be the dogma as justification to effect the outcome. Plus a few dollars from the NFL/Fans to legislate laws is the most likely outcome. Laws that will not work by the way.

Money, Money, Money Monaaaaaaaaaah........................Monaaaaaaaaa aah,
Some people real need it.................................

[DColeman]

They'll have to go after Hines Ward too.....

[18-87-44-29]

They'll have to go after Hines Ward too.....

In your dreams Gary....in your dreams.

[SwoopReturns]

Big bump

really? There are people walking the streets in downtown baltimore maryland that have been accused of attempted murder with a weapon. The perp who killed the hopkins kid on the phone with his mother had a rap sheet a mile long and wasn't behind bars. And you want to put a football coach in jail for a bounty system that has existed for over three decades in the nfl? Good luck with that. Deacon jones freely admitted that when he played he went straight for the qb's head with the sole intent of giving him a concussion and knocking him out. Certainly williams deserves his suspension, but if you think he is the only one in the nfl that was fostering this type of program you are wrong. Nobody is going to admit it now, but this kind of thing has probably been going on at various levels on every team. Terrell suggs came close to admitting it a few years ago, and then pulled back when the nfl said they would look into his comments. Virtually no team is clean when it comes to this behavior. The saints may have taken it a little further and got caught because they got wreckless and refused to stop, but they were by no means the only team practicing this. The nfl sent it's message, and this should begin to put an end to the bounty system. But if the nfl really wanted to put an all out investigation into it, they could probably put 25% of it's entire league's defensive players on suspension. I wasn't just williams and the saints, they just happened to get caught.