This Aug. 5, 2009 file photo shows, former New Orleans Saints' assistant football coach Mike Cerullo (2nd L) meeting with (from L) Saints' cornerback Tracy Porter, assistant special teams coach Mike Mallory, and assistant secondary coach Tony Oden, in Metairie, La. — AP WASHINGTON – Four players suspended for their roles in the New Orleans Saints' cash-for-hits program had their bans overturned Tuesday, ending a scandal that has hung over the National Football League (NFL) for most of the year. Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Will Smith and Anthony Hargrove were suspended in May after an NFL investigation found them to have had leadership roles in a program that gave players cash rewards for knocking opponents out of games from 2009-2011. But while backing the league's main findings on the bounty scheme, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, appointed to handle the appeals, ruled that the players should not be banned. “I affirm Commissioner Goodell's factual findings as to the four players. I conclude that Hargrove, Smith and Vilma — but not Fujita — engaged in ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of, and public confidence in, the game of professional football,'” Tagliabue wrote in his decision. “However, for the reasons set forth in this decision, I now vacate all discipline to be imposed upon these players.” Tagliabue's reasoning was based on precedent, arguing that the league had not previously fined or suspended players for such activities and chose to pin the blame more on the Saints coaches and executives who he said had “contaminated” the case. Tagliabue cleared former Saints linebacker Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, saying his involvement was in a different non-injury focused bonus pool for performance and not in the pool which rewarded “cart offs” and “knockouts.” The ruling is the latest twist in a scandal that rocked one of the NFL's premier franchises and included a season-long ban for Saints head coach Sean Payton and an indefinite suspension for former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The initial suspensions were vacated in September by a three-member appeals panel, which asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to clarify his reasons for the bans. Goodell then issued new punishments, which were the subject of the latest appeal. The NFL stood by its decisions and the process surrounding the bounty case, which was ultimately reviewed by Goodell, two grievance arbitrators, an appeals panel and, finally, Tagliabue. The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) welcomed Tagliabue's decision, saying he had agreed with their own view that the discipline was inappropriate. — Reuters
