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However, all four players also have asked U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan to throw out Goodell's disciplinary rulings on the grounds that he has demonstrated a bias against the players in his handling the bounty investigation, thereby violating the players' industrial due process rights. The players also have questioned the credibility of the league's evidence in the case or the witnesses upon which the league's investigation relied.
The NFL has said the union agreed that the commissioner would be able to serve as the lone arbitrator for matters deemed detrimental to football and that the evidence in the case is strong enough to support Goodell's rulings.
Still, the players have argued that Goodell should be barred from handling discipline in the bounty probe and that a neutral arbitrator should be appointed, an argument repeated by the union in its latest filing.
"It is only a neutral of unquestioned integrity who can restore public confidence in this process and mitigate the damage which the NFL's handling of 'bounty-gate has inflicted upon the game," the NFLPA said.
Meanwhile, former Minnesota Vikings defensive lineman Jimmy Kennedy submitted a sworn declaration stating he "knew nothing of any alleged 'bounty' program" that the Saints had in place on quarterback Brett Favre when they faced the Vikings in the 2009-10 NFC title game.
Kennedy's declaration states that he had only told teammates that the Saints were hitting Minnesota players "like there's money on the table," which was his way of urging teammates to match New Orleans' intensity.
Kennedy said NFL investigator Joe Hummel called him to ask about a Saints bounty program, and he told Hummel he did not know anything about it.
"Contrary to the League's claims, I did not act as a 'whistle-blower,'" Kennedy stated.
An NFL memo from the bounty probe has indicated that Kennedy told then-Vikings coach Brad Childress about a Saints bounty on Favre after discussing it with Hargrove, his former teammate in St. Louis.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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