Letter from the Editor: Do you think the Saints deserve this harsh punishment?

If you live in Louisiana, most likely you grew up a die-hard Saints fan, even if you did not like football. Although for years, the Saints suffered losing seasons, its fans never gave up on the black and gold.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Saints seemed to bring residents from all over the state together in the aftermath of the devastation Katrina did to the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas.

The Saints journeyed their way all the way to Super bowl Champs in 2009. Saints fans stayed loyal to their team, and now current day, fans everywhere are speaking out about the current bounty scandal and its harsh punishment from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week.

The bounty supposedly lasted over three seasons, including the 2009 season. The bounty is an incident in where several defensive players had a fund that paid out bonuses to players for in-game performance in violation of NFL rules. However, lets be clear, bounty scandals have been going on within the NFL for years.

Goodell suspended head coach Sean Payton without pay for a year, making him the first head coach ever to be suspended without pay for a year, costing a whopping $7.5 million in salary. Goodell also suspended former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams indefinitely, who spearheaded the bounty system, and he also fined the team $500,000 and took away draft picks. Also, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games and Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt was suspended without pay for the first six. A little harsh you say? Everyone seems to think so.

What is your take on the bounty scandal? Do you feel the punishment was too harsh?

I’d like to hear your view on this issue. Send me your letters to editor@dvillechief.brcoxmail.com or mail them to P.O.Box 309, Donaldsonville, LA 70346.

Respectfully,

Allison B. Hudson

Editor-in-Chief