Goodell has little to say on Vilma suit

At the owners meeting in Atlanta on Tuesday, commissioner Roger Goodell briefly addressed the defamation lawsuit filed against him by New Orleans' Jonathan Vilma after he suspended the Saints linebacker for the 2012 season.

Goodell said that he has "not spent a lot of time" on the lawsuit, in which Vilma contends the commissioner made false statements that tarnished Vilma's reputation and hindered his ability to earn a living playing football.

I've been around this league for 30 years, and you are going to make decisions that will not be unanimous - it just doesn't happen, particularly in a game where there is a lot of emotion, a lot of passion," Goodell said. "What I have to do is what is in the best interests of the game, long term. . . . You don't worry about a popularity contest."

Goodell is not popular in New Orleans these days, nor with the NFL Players Association, which has challenged many of his recent decisions with grievances, appeals and through Vilma's suit.

On Tuesday, the union said the league making mandatory the use of thigh and knee pads in 2013 was improper and should be negotiated.
Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee, said that because it is a playing rule, the league can apply the pads requirement unilaterally.

"We have some work to do with the union," he said.

The rule would not go into effect on the field until next year so equipment makers can work on safety and comfort.

The players also have asked arbitrators to rule just how much power, if any, Goodell has to punish the Saints for what the league found was a three-year cash-for-pain program that targeted specific players.

After appeals are heard and a final decision is rendered - if the arbitrator finds that Goodell has the authority to do so - the commissioner expects some evidence in the bounties scandal will be made public.

One of the suspended players, linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, believes that information should be disclosed now. Fujita said the claims against him have hurt him personally and that he's now pitted in a battle of his word against the league's.

"We're on public trial and that's unfortunate," said Fujita, who was given a three-game suspension.


(philly.com)