Chapter 703: The Bountygate Scandal
"Welcome. Welcome." Lu Ke enthusiastically embraced the person, then patted their back hard, not holding back his excitement and joy. A huge smile spread across his face. "God, I was just talking to Patrick yesterday. If you didn't come, we were going to break into your house."
"What, the team can't function without me?" The person also had a smile in his eyes and joked back.
Lu Ke didn't shy away from it and nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Yes, we absolutely can't do without you. So, showing up on the training field today means we'll be fighting side by side again this year? But I'm telling you in advance, David, I don't accept a 'no' for an answer."
The person who appeared on the training field was none other than the captain of last year's special teams, David Akers.
This year, Akers was about to turn thirty-eight. After playing in the league for fourteen seasons, he had entered the final stage of his career.
Although Akers had set new career highs in all his stats in the 2011 season, becoming the most stable part of the San Francisco 49ers, making it to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season, and being selected to the All-Pro first team for the second time in his career, the devastating blow of missing a crucial field goal in the conference finals still demoralized him.
This offseason, Akers seriously began to consider the possibility of retirement.
Special teams players were always the most overlooked part of a team. They could be cut at any time and could be benched at any time. When they played well, no one would remember their contribution. When they made a mistake, they would immediately become the target of public criticism. They were always the most marginalized players on the team.
But no one could deny the importance of special teams. Many times, they would decide the outcome of a game. New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had never hidden his emphasis on special teams. He always believed that for top teams, details were the key to success or failure.
Outstanding kickers like Akers were a rare sight in the entire league. If he chose to retire, it would be a significant loss for the San Francisco 49ers.
What's more, for Lu Ke, Akers and Willis were the most important teammates on the team, and even his spiritual pillars. As long as they were on the field, Lu Ke was willing to trust his defense and special teams. They were still fighting side by side, working together to win.
Seeing Akers again today, the joy and happiness in Lu Ke's heart were absolutely genuine.
"Yes. I'm going to try to work hard for one more season." Akers also had a big smile on his face. He could feel the sincere warmth, and in a training camp full of unfamiliar faces, it made him feel at home again. "But I'm telling you, this time, I'm going for the Super Bowl. Are you ready?"
In Akers' career, he had made it to the Super Bowl once with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004, but they unfortunately lost to the New England Patriots. Although many experts believed that Akers would definitely make it to the Hall of Fame after he retired, he was still struggling to win his first Super Bowl ring.
"Then we've already reached our first consensus." Lu Ke said confidently, which made Akers nod in satisfaction. "How are Luke and Sawyer doing? And Halley?"
These were the names of Akers' three children. They had met during Christmas last year. Later, after the Super Bowl, Lu Ke and Willis also went to Akers' house together, hoping that Akers would continue to fight with them for another season. The three kids had left a deep impression on them.
"Ha, Luke is the happiest one right now. He's been bragging everywhere all offseason that he knows you and that his name is the same as yours." Akers said with a big smile. "Sawyer is so jealous that he keeps bothering his mom, asking why his name can't be 'Luke'." After saying that, Akers laughed helplessly.
"It seems that I'm also starting a trend." Lu Ke didn't act humble. Instead, he showed off on purpose.
Akers chuckled and lightly punched Lu Ke's shoulder twice. "It's been a while, and I actually miss the way you talk. Your not-so-funny jokes have become funny again."
Then, Lu Ke just accepted the "praise" gracefully. Akers could only shake his head helplessly, and then he remembered something important. His eyes flickered, and he asked eagerly, "By the way, have the results of the Saints' investigation been confirmed? All those accusations are true? God! I can't believe all of this actually happened."
Lu Ke spread his hands. "You've got me. My second official season hasn't even started yet. I don't know anything about the league's secrets. Shouldn't you be the one telling me if this is true?"
What Akers was referring to was the biggest scandal of the offseason this year, which even overshadowed the news of Peyton Manning's trade. It caused a huge stir in the entire league, and the aftermath affected the entire league. The main character of this scandal was the New Orleans Saints.
The NFL league has always explicitly prohibited teams from using extra bonuses to encourage players to make violent hits on the field. Strictly speaking, it should be an explicit prohibition of any aggressive hitting.
But the problem was that maliciously injuring players and forcing them to leave the field, especially key players, could often directly benefit a team, or even lead to a win. Therefore, many teams turned a blind eye to it. As long as there was no concrete evidence, no one could pursue it further.
The root of the problem came from the 2009 NFC Championship game. After that game, the Minnesota Vikings' players and coaches all accused the New Orleans Saints' players of deliberately making violent hits on the field, trying to injure the Vikings' legendary quarterback at the time, Brett Favre, and force him to leave the game.
Then, in the 2010 offseason, an anonymous player reported to the NFL that not only Favre but also the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback, Kurt Warner, had been a target for a bounty in the 2009 season.
So, the league officially launched an investigation. But the players and other relevant personnel who were questioned all denied it.
The matter continued until the end of the 2011 season, when the investigation team made a breakthrough and finally found solid evidence to confirm the existence of the bounty program. Before the New Orleans Saints' wild card game against the Detroit Lions, they informed the team owner, Tom Benson.
On March 2, 2012, ESPN was the first to report that the league had determined that there was enough evidence. The next day, the league officially confirmed it.
After the investigation, it was confirmed that the New Orleans Saints' defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, had single-handedly orchestrated this matter between 2009 and 2011. As many as twenty-two to twenty-seven defensive players were involved.
The players involved and Williams used their own money to create a bounty pool. In a game, players who made a violent hit or injured an opponent could win a bonus, ranging from one hundred dollars to fifteen hundred dollars. For example, a player who injured an opposing player and forced them to leave the game would get fifteen hundred dollars.
And in the playoffs, this number could be doubled or tripled.
According to the detailed memo released by the league, not only Favre and Warner but also in the 2011 regular season, Williams had instructed players to target the Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton. Furthermore, in the 2010 wild card game, the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was also one of the targets.
The investigation also found that the New Orleans Saints' head coach, Sean Payton, was fully aware of this matter but did not take any action to stop it. When the league launched an investigation, he tried to cover it up with others. At the same time, he also participated in it to a certain extent in the 2011 season.
Regarding Sean Payton's involvement, the name of Reggie Bush once again became the focus of attention.
Before the 2006 draft, Reggie Bush's parents were suspected of illegally accepting gifts and cash from an agent, trying to interfere with the draft process. After the investigation confirmed it, Bush not only returned his Heisman Trophy but also saw his draft stock drop significantly. However, he never apologized to his alma mater.
After entering the league, the highly-anticipated Bush gradually faded into obscurity and never had an outstanding performance. This time, he appeared in the public eye again in a dishonorable way.
Before the start of the 2011 season, Bush's agent informed Sean Payton about the details of the entire plan via email and promised that a player who injured Aaron Rodgers in the season opener against the Green Bay Packers would win a five thousand dollar reward.
In response, head coach Sean Payton not only did not stop it but gave his tacit approval.
Unfortunately, in the season opener, the red-hot Green Bay Packers still defeated the New Orleans Saints, and Aaron Rodgers escaped unharmed.
The above facts were all confirmed with relevant evidence by the league's investigation team, confirming the whole story.
Before the first-round wild card game against the Detroit Lions in the 2012 playoffs, after the team owner, Tom Benson, learned about this matter from the investigation team, he immediately asked the head coach, Sean Payton, and the team's general manager, Mickey Loomis, to stop the plan. But the two of them still ignored him and pretended to obey.
In the wild card game, the Lions' quarterback, Matthew Stafford, became the new target.
At the same time, the assistant coach who was specially sent by the owner to supervise the defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, also chose to keep quiet.
After a detailed investigation, the league concluded that the entire team was involved, which made it another negative news story that shocked the entire sports world, following the New England Patriots' "Spygate" scandal in the new century. It was called—
Bountygate.
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