Saints: Williams To Hardgrove "Play Dumb"

In hopes of showing that players were only acting under orders from coaches to keep the existence of the bounty program quiet, the NFLPA has submitted a signed declaration to the NFL from former Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove that states he was instructed to deny the existence of a bounty program by Saints assistants Gregg Williams and Joe Vitt in 2010.

quote:

---

"Those [expletives] have been trying to get me for years," Williams told Hargrove referring to the NFL. "Stay on the same page, and this will blow over."

Assistant head coach Joe Vitt and Williams repeatedly told Hargrove to deny the existence of any bounty program to the NFL. Vitt reminded Hargrove that he brought Hargrove into the NFL and to the Saints. Both men told Hargrove to "play dumb."

Hargrove did just that in his 2010 meeting with NFL Security. A week later, Williams asked Hargrove: "Did you stick to the story?"

---