Document: Anthony Hargrove Was Told To Deny Bounty Program By Gregg Williams, Vitt

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Document: Anthony Hargrove was told to deny bounty program by Gregg Williams, Joe Vitt

By Jason Cole | Yahoo! Sports
may 7, 2012

Former New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove submitted a signed declaration to the NFL in April detailing how he was instructed by current and former Saints assistant coaches Joe Vitt and Gregg Williams in 2010 to deny the team's bounty program.

The declaration, obtained by Yahoo! Sports on Monday, was provided to the NFL by Hargrove through the NFL Players Association. A source said last week that the NFLPA submitted the declaration in hopes of proving that Hargrove and other Saints players were merely following orders by coaches. All four players appealed their suspensions on Monday.

Anthony Hargrove's declaration to NFL regarding Saints bounty scandal

"I don't know what the union was thinking when it provided the declaration," a source said. The source said the declaration only served as proof of Hargrove's involvement and backed up the contention by the league that other players were involved.

In the declaration, which was signed by Hargrove on April 13, Hargrove said that on approximately Feb. 24, 2010, he was called into a meeting with Williams. Hargrove said Williams initially talked about football, saying that Hargrove would get a chance to start at defensive end in the following season.

According to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, the league did not request the declaration from the player's association. A message to the NFLPA was not returned.

The conversation then turned to the bounty program after Vitt joined in. Williams said the NFL was going to come to the Saints facility to ask about the bounty program. Williams also said "some people thought that [Hargrove] had told Vikings player Jimmy Kennedy about the existence of a 'bounty' on Brett Favre because" Hargrove was friends with Kennedy.

Hargrove said Williams then said he was going to deny the existence of any bounty system, and that both Williams and Vitt instructed Hargrove to do the same. Williams also said: "Those [expletives at the NFL] have been trying to get me for years" and if all the Saints "stay on the same page, this will blow over."

Hargrove said he met with an NFL security officer in March 2010 and did as instructed by Williams and Vitt, denying any knowledge of a bounty program.

Hargrove said he never had any further discussion about the incident until March 2012, when NFLPA attorneys said the NFL would likely want to talk to Hargrove again.

[laram0]

Those {Expletives at the NFL} ought to go over big!

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Those {Expletives at the NFL} ought to go over big!

Yep, the Gregg Williams hit parade marches on................