The four players suspended for their involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal scored a major victory Tuesday when former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue vacated their suspensions.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees, emboldened by the news, came out swinging during his Wednesday media session, saying Tagliabue's ruling was "serious vindication."
Brees' first target was current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whom Brees says has "little to no credibility" with NFL players right now, according to Mike Triplett of The Times-Picayune.
"What I would like to see is a level of accountability on the part of the NFL and Commissioner Goodell in regards to mishandling of this entire situation," Brees said, via The Associated Press. "We as players hold ourselves and are held to a very strict code of conduct both on and off the field. We have to be accountable to that, as it should be, and I feel like they should be held to the same standards.
"If someone would just come out in the league office and admit, 'You know what? We could have handled this situation better,' it would go such a long way with both players and fans."
Brees also said that he hated to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but then he sounded like a conspiracy theorist. Brees believes the last month since Tagliabue got involved in the bounty appeals process seems like it was all "staged, as in, 'OK, how do we get ourselves out of this mess, let the players off."
Brees was asked if the Saints' failed season was stolen from them.
"Many might say that, but I'm not one to make excuses," Brees said, via Triplett.
Many also might find Brees' passive-aggressive approach tiring, especially since he absolves coach Sean Payton and all Saints players of any role in the mess. The former Super Bowl MVP saved his harshest words for former Saints assistant coaches Gregg Williams and Mike Cerullo, calling them "disgruntled" guys who were fired. Brees then questioned their mental state, according to NFL.com's Jeff Darlington.
Other than that, Brees didn't have a lot to say Wednesday.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
