N.F.L. - Goodell Sued in Saints Bounty Case - NYTimes.com The lawsuit, Vilma v. Goodell, was filed in United States District Court in New Orleans. It says, "Goodell, speaking publicly about certain Saints executives, coaches and players, in relation to purported efforts designed to injure players, made public statements concerning Vilma which were false, defamatory and injurious to Vilma's professional and personal reputation." Vilma is seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages for Goodell's "willful and wanton misconduct." The league responded in a statement from the spokesman Greg Aiello: "We have not yet reviewed the filing. However, our commitment to player safety and the integrity of the game is our main consideration. We recognize that not everyone will agree with decisions that need to be made. The N.F.L."s investigation said that Vilma, a defensive captain, put up $10,000 for a player to knock Brett Favre out of a playoff game and assisted the former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in establishing the bounty system. The lawsuit contains a blanket denial of the league's claims about Vilma's involvement in bounty activities. It said that Vilma was not involved in establishing a bounty system and that he never pledged, made or received payments encouraging, or resulting from, hits that injured opponents. The suit also said Vilma never targeted a player in a way that would violate N.F.L. rules, and that he never paid or intended to pay $10,000 or any amount to knock Favre, Kurt Warner or any other player from a game. The lawsuit repeated a claim by players and their union that the N.F.L. has not presented evidence or sources to corroborate its findings. If the case reaches the discovery phase, the N.F.L. could be forced by the court to reveal what the league says is voluminous evidence against players and coaches, including firsthand accounts from multiple sources, handwritten notes, e-mails and PowerPoint presentations. The lawsuit said that Vilma is permanently damaged in the eyes of teams, fans, the media and sponsors. By his being linked to bounties, the suit says other teams will be less likely to sign him, sponsors will not pay him to promote their products and he will have trouble obtaining employment after his football career. It said that Goodell made statements about Vilma with "reckless disregard of their truth or falsity and/or with malice," and that Vilma has suffered emotional distress because of the situation. On his Twitter feed Thursday afternoon, Vilma wrote, "Maybe this will get some people attention." Proving defamation and winning damages is difficult for a public figure like Vilma because he must prove that the league's statements were false and that the league knew that they were. "Huge hurdle to prove that any statements or charges were made with actual malice or reckless disregard for truth," said Gabe Feldman, the director of Tulane University's sports law program, who has provided commentary for the NFL Network. Clearly, the players are firing all weapons to get this out of the hands of the commissioner and to get their hands on the evidence being used against them. An unprecedented legal challenge to the commissioner is not necessarily surprising given the unprecedented penalties. Vilma and three other suspended players - Scott Fujita, Anthony Hargrove and Will Smith - are part of two grievances spearheaded by the N.F.L. Players Association. Those appeals, to a system administrator and an arbitrator, focus on language in the collective bargaining agreement that the union argues would limit the period of time for which players could be disciplined and shift jurisdiction for discipline and appeals away from Goodell. The first appeal hearing was Wednesday. The second appeal will be heard May 30.