Drew weighs in on Lord Goodell

quote:

---

In an interview with ESPN.com, Brees made it clear that he believes that Goodell has too much power when it comes to handing out punishments. The Saints quarterback pointed out that all decisions involving any punishments are 'unilateral' and there's 'no checks and balances' in place.

---

quote:

---

Too many times, I'd say especially over the last few years, a punishment's been handed down and nobody has really seen the evidence except for those in the league office - supposedly," Brees said. "So decisions were made in kind of a, 'Hey, trust us.' But did the public see any of the facts? Did the accused see any of the facts? In most cases, no."

---

quote:

---

"That's why you have multiple parties to make sure everyone comes together, cooler heads prevail. The decision isn't just based on emotion at the time, which I can say I believe has happened in the past in regards to commissioner discipline," Brees said, referring to bountygate. "It's been based upon emotion as opposed to maybe the facts and (a new disciplinary policy would) prevent that from ever happening again."

---

quote:

---

As for bountygate, Brees sees similarities in what Payton did and what Goodell's doing now. In both cases, the parties are pleading ignorance. The plea obviously didn't work for Payton, who received a one-year suspension for his 'bountygate' role.

"I think it's a great tie-in because obviously the same things that I've heard, the same things that I feel [about Goodell] are the quotes that were thrown out at members of the Saints organization in regards to why they were being punished," Brees said. "Things such as, 'Ignorance is no excuse,' and, 'if you didn't know you should've known,' are things that would absolutely apply in this case, except the roles are reversed and it's going back at Commissioner Goodell and the league office."

Brees, who obviously feels strongly that Goodell has too much power, didn't offer a 'yes' or 'no' answer when asked if he thought Goodell should step down.

"That's not up to me," Brees said. "I'm more focused on the solution, as far as creating and then maintaining policies that you can be consistent with and open with and transparent with, and bringing together all parties that should be involved. The players association, the NFL league office and independent experts."

---