Wasn't expecting to still be talking about Bountygate in 2024. In case you've somehow forgotten, the scandal surrounding the New Orleans Saints back in 2010 arose when the NFL accused the team of running a "bounty" program in which coaches would pay defensive players for injuring or knocking opposing players out of games. The league came down hard on the Saints and then-head coach Sean Payton, suspending Payton for the season while indefinitely suspending defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. The Saints also lost two second-round draft picks, and were hit with a $500,000 fine. As a Saints fan myself, I can tell you what a rough time that was in the Superdome, and I'm sure all Saints fans were hoping that we wouldn't have to hear about it anymore. But of course there's no way that would happen. A video released by James O'Keefe, an undercover journalist, shows a former Washington Commander executive making some bombshell claims about the Saints scandal - and about current Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton. The video features Rael Enteen, the former VP of Content for the Washington Commanders who was recently fired after making controversial comments on another O'Keefe video in which he called commanders players "homophobic," as well as referring to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones as racist and homophobic and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as a "puppet." In the latest video, Enteen claims that "bountygate" was actually a coverup for a bigger scandal in which Payton was caught stealing and selling opioids from the team doctor:
"Bountygate is actually a cover up for what they really got caught for. They got caught stealing painkillers, which was a way bigger deal and would have been a huge PR hit, even bigger than bountygate." Enteen says that the suspensions were actually a result of the coaches pushing pills because it would be less damaging to the reputation of the NFL:
"They used the story of bountygate as the justification for the suspension in order to cover up the truth, which is that they had a painkiller-addicted and distributed coaching staff... This would do irreparable damage to all of our individual brands, our cumulative brand, that will hurt our bottom line. Therefore it's in all of our best interests to sweep this under the rug...They knew as bad as bountygate was that it would be better than the alternative." The former Commanders exec once again blames (or credits?) Goodell for covering up the scandal, claiming that the NFL commissioner negotiated a deal with the FBI to sweep it under the rug. As far as how he found out this information, Enteen claims to have learned about it from Bobby Monica, who's the longtime equipment manager for the Miami Dolphins:
"What he claims is that the FBI became aware of this situation. Someone put a camera in the back of a safe where they kept the painkiller pills. Caught them red handed with this videotape...and that his mentor has one of the few remaining video proof of this." Now, before anybody claims that this is just a disgruntled employee making up stories, Enteen was still employed by the Commanders when the video was recorded. (He thought he was on a date when he divulged all this, which seems like a weird topic of conversation for a date but might explain why he's still single). But still, he doesn't allege to have any firsthand information and is just reporting what he claims to have heard from somebody else. Of course Payton, the Broncos, the Saints and the NFL didn't comment to O'Keefe Media Group on the allegations, so it seems like anything Enteen says should be taken with a grain of salt until it's proven to be true. And as a Saints fan, obviously I'm hoping that this guy's full of shit. https://x.com/JamesOKeefeIII/status/1834378536615837849
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