Legislator says Bountygate punishments negatively impact New Orleans

Saints head coach Sean Payton shouldn't be suspended for the entire 2012 season for his role in Bountygate. Instead, he should be fined so that the city of New Orleans doesn't suffer any financial setbacks if the Saints take a competitive dive.

Louisiana Rep. Cameron Henry

At least that's what Louisiana Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Jefferson said in a phone conversation with me Friday. Earlier this week, Henry authored a non-binding resolution asking the NFL to reconsider the punishments handed out to the New Orleans Saints after the team was caught running a bounty program during the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the resolution was passed unanimously in the Louisiana Senate Wednesday (the entire resolution can be read here), and had earlier been passed in the House. It states that the Saints have provided "magical moments" for the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, the Gulf Coast region, while Louisiana taxpayers have helped them with their success by supporting stadium improvements, building new practice facilities for the team, and other incentives.

Henry believes that the punishments are excessive and will have negative economic impacts on the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Without Payton, Henry said the Saints would not be the winning team they are now and that the suspensions would have a negative economic impact on the region.

Instead, Henry proposed that the NFL impose steep fines on Payton and other coaches instead of suspending them outright  – something that was left out of the resolution, but relayed to me during our conversation Friday.

News of the resolution came the day before Saints head coach Sean Payton, along with Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant head coach/linebackers coach Joe Vitt were appealing their suspensions for their roles in Bountygate. Payton was suspended for the entire 2012 season for over-seeing a program that rewarded players for critically injuring opposing players. Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was suspended indefinitely, ran the program and is not appealing the punishment. The NFL also suspended Loomis for eight games and Vitt for six games. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to rule on the appeals in the coming days.

As you can imagine, I was a little perturbed with this resolution and took Henry's attempts as a slap on the wrist. I emailed him Thursday expressing my disgust and said why the punishments were justified. An audio of Williams' speech the night before the Saints playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers only added fuel to the fire when he called for Saints players to injure specific players (warning: it contains vulgar language and is not suitable for children).

However, Henry offered to call me directly to discuss the resolution and offer any misconceptions I might have, which surprised since I am not a Louisiana resident.

During our 17-minute conversation on Friday, we hashed out our opinions about the resolution. I maintained that the punishment was justified while he maintained it was excessive and punishes the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana more than anything.

But unlike the way it's perceived in the resolution, Henry doesn't believe Payton should be let off the hook entirely. In fact, he said he was embarrassed to have this news come out and negatively impact the reputations the Saints organization, along with the city of New Orleans. The fines which he suggested could be in the millions provide a respectable alternative compared to what some Saints fans wearing "Free Sean Payton" T-shirts suggest, which is to exonerate him from any punishment.

Henry conceded that the NFL is going to hand out its decision and that there was nothing he nor any of his legislative colleagues can do to prevent that. But he wanted to let the NFL know how it would negatively impact the region if the suspensions are held. Only time will tell.