NEW ORLEANS —New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson isn’t backing off his support of his general manager and coach, even as his team is accused by the NFL of maintaining a bounty program to injure opponents.
While Benson cooperates with NFL officials in their investigation of the bounty program that spanned the last three seasons, he is standing behind general manager Mickey Loomis and coach Sean Payton — even though the league says they knew about the bounties.
“The bond between Sean and Mickey and Mr. Benson could not be stronger,” a team the official told The Associated Press on Monday on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing. “(Benson) is 110 percent behind his guys.”
The NFL investigation found from 22 to 27 defensive players on the Saints, as well as former assistant coach Gregg Williams, maintained a bounty system for inflicting injuries on targeted players.
Former defensive coordinator Williams has admitted to running the pool, and the NFL’s investigation concluded Loomis and Payton did nothing to prevent it, even after Benson was alerted of the pool by the NFL last year and asked Loomis to put a stop to it.
The NFL’s report said the Saints maintained a bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons. Payoffs were made for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted players, including quarterbacks Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. “Knockouts,” in which a player was knocked out of the game, were worth $1,500 and “cart-offs,” in which players had to be helped off the field, were worth $1,000. Payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.
Williams, who was scheduled to meet with NFL officials Monday, called his role in the pool a “terrible mistake” when he issued a public apology late last week.
No punishments have been handed out, but the Saints could include suspension, fines and loss of draft picks.
