Darren Sharper calls allegations of Saints bounties for hurting players ‘ridiculous’
On Friday, Gregg Williams faced accusations surrounding an alleged bounty system that he had in place during his three seasons as Saints defensive coordinator. Darren Sharper, who played under Williams as a safety for the Saints in 2009 and 2010, has flatly denied those claims. While Sharper acknowledges that there were incentive-based bonuses doled out to players, he says they were only for clean, legal plays.
“I think this is something that, from when I got in the league in 1997, has happened thousands and thousands of times over,” Sharper told NFL.com. “It’s ridiculous that someone is trying to say that we made bounties on knocking guys out, when basically all it was is that when a guy gets an interception, then he might get paid. That’s something that guys do amongst themselves.”
It seems as if Sharper may want to get his story straight with Williams, who has already issued a statement acknowledging and apologizing for what the NFL’s investigation unearthed. Given that other NFL players who never played under Williams are essentially shrugging their shoulders at the allegations and calling bounty systems commonplace in NFL locker rooms, Sharper’s remarks come off as a little surprising.
H/T Pro Football Talk
Photo credit: Derick Hingle, US Presswire
