Daily Madden: NFL Focus On Bounty Program Shifts To Players
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) - AP is reporting the NFL Players Association told Saints players involved in the bounty case they could face criminal charges, and that the association has hired attorneys to represent them if needed.
"The commissioner and the union haven't gotten together on the players yet," John Madden told the KCBS morning crew. "It sounds like they're positioning themselves for the next step."
Madden said the bounty case, in which players were allegedly paid to knock opposing players out of a game, puts the NFLPA in a difficult position.
"They're representing the people that are alleged to have done it, and then they're representing the people that have been alleged to receive it... They're kind of caught in the middle on this one I think."
The former coach said he expects a players' defense along the lines of "we didn't do it, the coaches made us do it."
Oakland Raiders long-time trainer George Anderson died last week in New Mexico at age 83.
"When you're a head coach, one of the most important people on your staff is your trainer," John said. "(George) was going to take care of the player. He wasn't going to put a player out there and say he was okay if he wasn't. He'd work day and night. If a player needed some therapy or some treatment, George would come back at night. We'd be meeting as coaches at 10 or 11 o'clock at night, and George Anderson would still be in there working with the players." (7:30)
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
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