Football (not soccer)

Damning Gregg Williams Audio Emerges

On the day that members of the Saints' brass will have their appeals heard for their roles in New Orleans' bounty system, damning audio has been released of Gregg Williams, the man who orchestrated the program, instructing his players to injure San Francisco 49ers players in their wild-card playoff game last season.

Williams, the Saints' former defensive coordinator, did not appeal his indefinite suspension by the NFL. As first reported by Yahoo! Sports, documentary filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, who directed the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Run Ricky Run," has released an audio recording that he says is a speech Williams gave to Saints defensive players the night before the team lost to the 49ers in a playoff game in January.

The sample audio recording is a little less than four minutes long. The full speech was 12 minutes, according to Pamphilon.

Pamphilon was following the Saints last season while working on a documentary featuring former Saints special teams player Steve Gleason, who is currently battling Lou Gehrig's disease.

Williams can be heard in the audio recording instructing his defensive players to injure quarterback Alex Smith, running back Frank Gore, tight end Vernon Davis and receivers Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams.

According to Pamphilon, Gregg Williams pointed to his chin while telling his players to hit Smith "right there" and says, "Remember me. I got the first one. I got the first one. Go get it. Go lay that m----------- out."

Williams uses one of his favorite slogans in the speech -- "Kill the head and the body will die."

On Gore: "We've got to do everything in the world to make sure we kill Frank Gore's head. We want him running sideways. We want his head sideways."

On running back Kendall Hunter: "Little 32, we're going to knock the f--- out of him."

On Smith: "Every single one of you, before you get off the pile, affect the head. Early, affect the head. Continue, touch and hit the head."

On Kyle Williams: "We need to find out in the first two series of the game, that little wide receiver, No. 10, about his concussion. We need to f------ put a lick on him right now. He needs to decide. He needs to f------ decide."

On Crabtree: "We need to decide whether Crabtree wants to be a fake-ass prima donna, or he wants to be a tough guy. We need to find out. He becomes human when we f------ take out that outside ACL."

On Davis: "We need to decide how many times we can bull rush and and we can f------ put Vernon Davis' ankles over the pile."

When asked by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter for comment on Williams' speech to his players, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello would not comment other than to reiterate that the Saints had been warned, saying "note for background these graphs from our March 21 press release announcing the discipline for Saints management."

Sources: Saints' GM could eavesdrop

The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Louisiana was told Friday that New Orleans Saints
general manager Mickey Loomis had an electronic device in his Superdome suite that had been secretly
re-wired to enable him to eavesdrop on visiting coaching staffs for nearly three NFL seasons.

Sources familiar with Saints game-day operations told "Outside the Lines" that Loomis, who faces an
eight-game suspension from the NFL for his role in the recent bounty scandal, had the ability to secretly
listen for most of the 2002 season, his first as general manager of the Saints, and all of the 2003 and 2004
seasons. The sources spoke with "Outside the Lines" under the condition of anonymity because of fear of
reprisals from members of the Saints organization.


Jim Letten, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, acknowledged being told of the allegations
Friday. Sources said he has briefed the FBI in New Orleans about Loomis' alleged activity. If proven, the
allegations could be both a violation of NFL rules and potentially a federal crime, according to legal sources.
The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 prohibits any person from intercepting
communications from another person using an electronic or mechanical device.


"I can say that we were just made aware of that on Friday, at least of these allegations," Letten said.
"Anything beyond that I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to comment."

Greg Bensel, Saints vice president of communications, said Monday afternoon on behalf of the Saints and
Loomis: "This is 1,000 percent false. This is 1,000 percent inaccurate."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was unaware of the allegations.

Jonathan Vilma banned for year

The NFL suspended four players Wednesday for their roles in the New Orleans Saints' bounty system,
including linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012 season.

In addition to Vilma, defensive tackle Anthony Hargrove (now with the Green Bay Packers) was suspended
eight games, defensive Will Smith four games and linebacker Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns)
three games.

All of the suspensions are without pay.

All four player suspensions will be appealed, according to an NFL source, who told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter,
"Get ready for a massive multiple legal battle over this on several fronts."

Dolphins cut WR Chad Johnson

The Dolphins terminated the six-time Pro Bowl receiver's contract about 24 hours after he was arrested
in a domestic battery case involving his wife.

Johnson was released from jail on $2,500 bond earlier Sunday after his wife accused him of head-butting
her during an argument in front of their home. Johnson was charged with simple domestic battery, a
misdemeanor.

The confrontation came barely a month after Johnson married Evelyn Lozada, who is on the reality TV show
"Basketball Wives." The 34-year-old Johnson had been battling for a spot on the team after a disappointing
season with the New England Patriots in 2011.

Sources: Bounty bans overturned

Suspensions for four players connected to the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal have been overturned by
a three-man arbitration panel, sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

The ruling should clear Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith, Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargrove to start the season.

"Victory is mine!!!! -stewie griffin," Vilma tweeted Friday afternoon.

The panel's decision affects the players only, not suspended coaches Gregg Williams, Sean Payton and Joe Vitt.

The NFL Players Association and the four players had claimed in consolidated lawsuits that Goodell abused his
authority and followed improper procedures in disciplining the players for a program that, according to NFL
investigators, paid improper cash bonuses for tackles that injured opponents. The lawsuits sought to have the
punishment handed down by Goodell thrown out. The arbitration ruling renders the lawsuits moot at this point.

NFL great Alex Karras dies


LOS ANGELES -- Alex Karras, who gained fame in the NFL as a fearsome defensive lineman and later as an
actor, has died. He was 77.

Craig Mitnick, Karras' attorney, said Karras died at home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, surrounded by family.

Karras had been suffering from dementia. He was among the more than 3,500 NFL players suing the league
regarding the treatment of head injuries.

Detroit drafted Karras, who grew up in Gary, Ind., 10th overall in 1958 out of Iowa and he was a four-time
All-Pro defensive tackle over 12 seasons with the franchise.

Karras may be even better known for his work as an actor. He portrayed an adoptive dad in the 1980s sitcom
"Webster," and punched a horse in the 1974 comedy classic "Blazing Saddles."