US Senator Calls Hearing to Examine Bounties in NFL

US Senator Calls Hearing to Examine Bounties in NFL

Sen. Dick Durbin calls for a Judiciary Committee hearing about bounties in NFL and other major sports as an offshoot to the news that New Orleans Saints players are receiving extra cash for hits that hurt opponents.

Durbin, assistant Senate majority leader, announced Thursday he would like to examine whether federal law should qualify such bounty systems a crime.

"Let's be real basic about it here. If this activity were taking place off of a sporting field, away from a court, nobody would have a second thought [about whether it's wrong]. You mean, someone paid you to go out and hurt someone? It goes way beyond the rules of any sporting contest, at least team contest, to intentionally inflict harm on another person for a financial reward," Durbin said in a telephone interview.

Durbin’s announcement was made a day after the NFL took an iron stand on bounties, having suspended Saints head coach Sean Payton for the entire next season, and indefinitely banning their former defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.

"I am encouraged by what the National Football League did. What they came down with as a penalty on the New Orleans Saints was decisive and historic," Durbin said.  He said he was glad that the league was "taking this [case] very seriously."

The NFL and other leagues must "come up with standards to make sure this isn't going to happen again," he said. Otherwise, lawmakers will have to "at least explore whether it is necessary to have federal legislation in this area."

Durbin explained that one possibility is for the federal sports bribery laws to extend to cover bounties, so that "if someone offers in a team sports situation some sort of value, money or otherwise, to intentionally hurt another player, that, in fact, would be a crime."

Posted by Andre Monohan on Sunday March 25 2012, 5:13 AM EST. Ref: Google. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0