Why NFLPA Has No Chance of Overturning Saints Player Suspensions

The NFL Players Association has vowed to fight the suspensions handed down by the league in response to the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, filing a grievance against commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday, according to ESPN's Andrew Brandt.

I think we all know that there is zero chance that the NFL will reverse its original ruling. 

Goodell came down hard on four players Wednesday afternoon, issuing harsh suspensions as a result of New Orleans' bounty program. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season without pay, while defensive end Will Smith will miss the first four games.

Meanwhile, two players no longer with the Saints were also slapped with harsh punishments. Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove (now with the Green Bay Packers) will miss the season's first eight games, while linebacker Scott Fujita (now with the Cleveland Browns) will miss the first three. 

The suspensions were severe for a reason; the league had to send a message.

A program designed to reward players for intentionally injuring opponents cannot and will not stand. After the punishment handed down as a result of this investigation, you can bet that no team will run a bounty program again. 

The NFLPA has no chance of overturning the suspensions, because there is no way the league is going to soften its stance on this issue.

Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney hired by the NFL to evaluate its investigation, said the evidence is strongly against the players, via ESPN.com. White claimed that the facts support the sanctions, and that this was not a he-said, she-said situation. She further stated that multiple independent sources corroborated the NFL's evidence. 

Now that White has gone public with her perspective on the story, there is almost no hope for those players to overturn their suspensions by denying their participation in the program.

Instead, the NFLPA is opting to challenge Goodell's authority rather than the punishments themselves.

Even so, with the league taking player safety so seriously, it's unlikely that the players' suspensions will be overturned.