The suspended parties in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal can forget about NFL commissioner changing his mind in regards to the punishments handed down to the organization.
Several members of the Saints brass, which included head coach Sean Payton, appealed suspensions and other reprimands from the league, but Payton will still be out for one full season for his as the team's leader during the bounty probe that lasted from 2008 to 2011.
Payton's suspension was upheld, along with general manager Mickey Loomis who received an eight-game suspension and assistant coach Vitt who received six games. While the Payton suspension was supposed to begin in early April, the appeals process allows for him to begin it a bit later, which is now April 16.
Loomis and Vitt's suspensions don't begin until the end of the 2012 preseason. Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, of course, is still suspended indefinitely. There may be a bit of a silver lining here on the financial side for the Saints, though, as SB Nation's football writer Joel Thorman notes:
"One bit of good news for the Saints is that the financial penalties -- the fines -- could be reduced. The Saints organization itself was fined $500,000 in light of the bounty scandal. Others were suspended without pay. For Payton, that's the loss of several million dollars in salary. It's unclear when Goodell will decide on the financial penalties."
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