Anthony Hargrove’s Agent Attacks NFL Over Bounty Program Allegations

Phil Williams, agent for Green Bay Packers defensive end Anthony Hargrove has went on the offensive against the NFL’s bounty program allegations.

Calling the bounty program investigation “Semantics-Gate” Williams began questioning the 200 pages of evidence league officials presented to the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Friday.

In his letter Phil Williams wrote:

“(D)id you sincerely consider what you gave the NFLPA sufficient enough to tarnish men’s careers and reputations? If you believe the ‘evidence’ to be so substantial that you would espouse the 50,000-plus page file, why would most of those pages have zero to do with ‘bounties’ or even ‘pay-for-performance?’

Williams then added:

“Do you actually have any concrete evidence that any player from another team was injured as a result of a ‘bounty’ and that a player from the Saints was therefore paid accordingly? Can you honestly say that the Saints employed a 3-year ‘bounty program’ if no one was ever paid for a ‘bounty?’ Would that not constitute one of the worst followed programs ever witnessed?”

Anthony Hargrove, Jonathan Vilma, Will Smith and Scott Fujita were among the four New Orleans Saints players suspended over the NFL bounty program.

On Friday Vilma’s attorney echoed the same statement, noting:

“The league provided no evidence to us in a timely manner. It has provided no evidence to corroborate the accusations, and yet the NFL furthermore has told us it doesn’t plan to present any witness at the hearing.”

Vilma has filed a defamation lawsuit against the NFL and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.