NEW ORLEANS — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and four players whose suspensions in connection with the bounty investigation were recently lifted by an appeals panel have agreed to new meetings on the matter.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday no specific dates have been set for the meetings. Peter Ginsberg, an attorney for Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said his client hoped to meet with the commissioner by early next week.
Goodell is reconsidering whether to hand down revised suspensions for the four players — Vilma, Saints defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove — who had been punished in an alleged pay-for-pain pool offering cash bonuses for hits that injured opponents.
Ginsberg said Vilma’s meeting would not be considered a hearing, but would be more akin to preliminary fact-finding meetings that occur at the outset of the disciplinary process outlined by the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
“We expect to meet with commissioner Goodell and hopefully have a full, honest exchange of information and come to a just resolution,” Ginsberg said.
The three-member panel that lifted the suspensions on Friday asked Goodell to start the disciplinary process over.