BREAKING NEWS : Sean Payton Suspended 1 Year, Gregg Williams Indefinitely for “BountyGate”

Sean Payton will be off the sidelines for the entire 2012 season. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

The NFL has come down on the Saints for Bounty Gate, and come down hard.

Former Saints’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been suspended indefinitely. Saints coach Sean Payton has been suspended for the entire 2012 season, without pay, and GM Mickey Loomis has been suspended for the first 8 games in 2012.

The team has also been fined $500,000 by the league, and will forfeit their second round draft picks in 2012 and 2013.

This has impact on the Rams as well, as now they will have to fill Williams’ position with their team.

As extreme as this penalty is, it had to be done. For those who don’t remember, the Saints, led by Gregg Williams, have been found to have administered a “bounty” program, which means players are paid to knock opposing players out of games. The rumor is as much as $10,000 was offered on Brett Favre’s head for the 2009 NFC title game.

This cannot be tolerated. The NFL is violent enough, where payment for violence, if allowed, could end up in someone being killed. Kudos to the league for this today.