In a strongly worded statement released to the media, Browns linebacker Scott Fujita blasted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today, sounding like a player eager to continue the fight to clear his name in the New Orleans bounty probe, Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Fujita expressed his disappointment in Goodell and charged him with "abuse of power" the day after the commissioner reaffirmed the suspensions to the four players allegedly involved in the bounty system. Fujita had his ban reduced from three games to one game, but he clearly isn’t happy with the tone Goodell took in his letter to the linebacker, which was made public. While acknowledging the player didn’t contribute to a pay-to-injure pool, the commissioner stated his disappointment with Fujita’s decision not to speak out against the system and former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. It seems certain he will appeal Goodell’s latest ruling. Fujita participated in practice, and is expected to address the media later this afternoon. “I'm pleased the Commissioner has finally acknowledged that I never participated in any so-called 'bounty program, as I've said for the past 7 months,†Fujita wrote. “However, his condescending tone was neither accurate nor productive. Additionally, I am now purportedly being suspended for failing to confront my former defensive coordinator for his inappropriate use of language. This seems like an extremely desperate attempt to punish me. I also think it sets a bad precedent when players can be disciplined for not challenging the behavior of their superiors. This is an absolute abuse of the power that's been afforded to the Commissioner.†“For me, the issue of player health & safety is personal,†he wrote. “For the league and the Commissioner, it's about perception & liability. The Commissioner says he is disappointed in me. The truth is, I’m disappointed in him. His positions on player health and safety since a 2009 congressional hearing on concussions have been inconsistent at best. “He failed to acknowledge a link between concussions & post-career brain disease, pushed for an 18-game regular season, committed to a full season of Thursday night games, has continually challenged players' rights to file workers compensation claims for on-the-job injuries, and he employed incompetent replacement officials for the start of the 2012 season. His actions or lack thereof are by the league’s own definition, “conduct detrimentalâ€. “My track record on the issue of player health & safety speaks for itself. And clearly, as I just listed, the Commissioner's does too.†Source: The Redzone
Very strong argument by Fujita, too. Goodell is so hellbent on "player safety" yet .. he is trying to push for things that could further harm it.
Uh ho... Ya gone & made him angry, Rog [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_VYAf-WUxY]Hulk - Why So Angry? - YouTube[/ame] :icon_smile:
Yeah this is hecked, too bad I don't have the time to give a more thorough response than that right now..
