Roger Goodell Must Uphold Saints Players' Suspensions

For as tough as Roger Goodell has been on NFL players violating any kind of league rule, he must remain as such when it comes to the New Orleans Saints' bounty suspensions.

Any kind of bend in reducing the Saints' suspensions simply opens the door ever so slightly to future encounters regarding an appeal to a penalty. As for the current situation, Goodell has even more reason to uphold his decision about the Saints.

According to the Associated Press via ESPN, the situation appears stacked against New Orleans:

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In a document obtained Monday by The Associated Press, [Anthony] Hargrove acknowledges that he acted on [Gregg] Williams' and [Joe] Vitt's instructions to "play dumb" if asked whether he was aware of bounties being placed on former Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre or any other player.

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Take into consideration everything that has unfolded regarding the bounty scandal to this point; regardless of the merit of the document it's not hard to believe that this is possible.

That said, it's only more reason for Goodell to uphold the suspensions and continue to try and make the game safer. Along with all that, let's take a look at some other reasons why Goodell must remain standing his ground.

Integrity of the Game

For one, these players are already making millions of dollars per year, so why would a guy need extra cash as motive to deliver big hits (regardless of whether the hits are legal or not)?

If needing that extra monetary incentive is the motive toward playing harder, then what about before the bounties? There's simply no reason to get paid extra on top of salaries and bonuses to keep playing tough football.

Bounties then lead us to believe that beforehand players didn't give as much effort at tackling, hitting and/or simply making plays. Otherwise, what's the purpose of the bounties? To make the players give more effort and compete harder against one another, right?

Well, obviously the salary and fan appreciation wasn't enough motivation to go all out and try to win, make Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams. To that end, it takes away from playing for the love of the game, which ultimately diminishes the integrity of the game.

Future Influence

If the bounty suspensions are not upheld, what does the NFL's future hold? In addition to potentially a little more leeway from the commissioner, the game would see more and more dishonesty (i.e. violations of any kind).

Now think about how that affects those at the college and high school level. All those players look up to the professionals, but it's hard to get influenced by someone who has been involved with hurting the integrity of the game.

The trickle-down effect is immense considering how popular pro football has become. In addition to the game's own accolades there are fantasy football and betting implications at stake as well: although these are small compared to TV/radio ratings, advertising and sponsorships.

Overall NFL Picture

When it comes to a situation like this, we have to look at it from a much more broad perspective. There's undoubtedly a lot of aftermath that will take place regarding all the individuals involved, but what about the rest of the NFL?

Goodell has to send a clear message that the league has zero tolerance for this type of violation. Yes, the hits were legal on the field but that by no means is an excuse for a bounty. Legal hits need to happen without the existence of a bounty, because that's the way the game is supposed to be played.

The defense is already at a disadvantage with all the new league rules, and a bounty punishment is only going to make referees more inclined to watch defenders closer than ever.

We also have to remember that the Saints still ranked No. 30 against the pass and No. 24 in overall defense anyway. So the bounties didn't even help as New Orleans lost to San Francisco in the NFC Divisional Round.

In short, defenses (no matter how good) need to focus more on preparation through game-planning instead of trying to lay big hits, for the sake of laying big hits.

John Rozum on Twitter.