New York, NY (Sports Network) - An arbitrator has ruled in favor of the NFL in the bounty grievance filed by the NFL Players Association.
Special master Stephen Burbank said Monday that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had the authority to suspend four players for their roles in the New Orleans Saints' bounty system.
Goodell suspended Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the 2012 season, current Green Bay defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove for eight games, Saints defensive end Will Smith for four games and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with Cleveland, for three games.
"System arbitrator Stephen Burbank upheld the commissioner's authority under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to impose 'conduct detrimental' discipline on players who provided or offered to provide financial incentives to injure opponents," the NFL's statement read Monday. "He also upheld the commissioner's authority to impose such discipline against players who obstructed a league investigation. The system arbitrator thus confirmed the commissioner's authority to suspend Mr. Fujita, Mr. Smith and Mr. Vilma. He invited the commissioner to clarify the precise basis for his discipline of Mr. Hargrove who, among other things, was found to have lied to the league's investigators and obstructed their investigation."
All four players have appealed the suspensions.
The grievance filed by the NFLPA had claimed that conduct prior to the new collective bargaining agreement, reached last August, was not subject to league discipline.
Burbank disagreed, but the NFLPA plans to appeal his ruling as provided by the CBA.
"Any pay-to-injure program runs counter to the health and safety principles we stand for as players," said the NFLPA in a statement. "However, none of the players punished in this case have seen a shred of evidence justifying the NFL's punishment. The union believes that the players are entitled to neutral arbitration of these issues under the CBA and will continue to fight for that principle and to protect the fair due process rights of all players."
Another NFLPA grievance, filed with a different arbitrator, seeks the player appeals to be heard by someone other than Goodell. The NFLPA said Ted Cotrell and Art Shell should be part of the process because the two are appointed by the league and union to review appeals for on-field conduct.
