Union Wants NFL to Hold Back Punishing Saints The players' union wants the NFL to delay announcing any punishment to the New Orleans Saints for their bounty program until it can conduct its own investigation. NFLPA spokesman George Atallah tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that "We asked the league to hold off on any punishment until our information gathering was completed." The union said last week that members of its legal team would investigate the program the NFL says gave thousands of dollars in payoffs to players for hits that knocked targeted opponents out of games. The NFL said the amounts reached their height in 2009, the season the Saints won the Super Bowl. Former Saints assistant coach Gregg Williams, now defensive coordinator of the Rams, has admitted to and apologized for running the program.