Lawyer for Jonathan Vilma says he still doesn't have evidence

In a radio interview Tuesday evening, the lawyer for suspended New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said the NFL still hasn't responded to his request that the NFL release any and all evidence it has compiled against Vilma as it relates to the former Pro Bowl linebacker's involvement in the Saints' pay-for-performance bounty program.

Peter Ginsberg told WWL Radio that it is important that Vilma is able to see the evidence against him. In a 17-point request on Monday, he asked NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league to furnish the evidence it has amassed.

"The fact that we haven't received a single piece of evidence from the commissioner not only makes the whole process suspect but made it important that we ask the commissioner as specifically as we possibly could what we think we should be able to see in order to even the playing field and in order to give Jonathan a fair hearing," Ginsberg said. "And I must say that the commissioner still hasn't responded to this most recent request. This is not the first time we have asked them for the evidence."

Ginsberg said the reason he believes Goodell hasn't obliged the request is because the evidence isn't as damning as the NFL has made it out to be.

"What the commissioner has said publicly, the accusations and allegations against Jonathan are not true," Ginsberg said. "They are simply not accurate.

"Add to that the fact, as we have seen in the press the last few days that the commissioner's office and the commissioner's outside counsel have discernibly misrepresented even the information that the commissioner has gathered. When you put that in the context of the commissioner's high-priced outside counsel saying that when we asked for evidence and when we wanted to know what we were answering to - and this is (outside counsel Mary Jo White) quote 'a Red herring,' it really puts into perspective the kangaroo court that Jonathan and the others have been subjected to.

"I can't think of any other forum in the United States where this kind of abusive process is permitted. If you want to ask me why it is permitted, you are asking the wrong person. I wasn't a part of the CBA negotiations. And I don't think that the CBA as it stands permits this kind of abusive process."

Ginsberg said the NFL's biggest fear is that the evidence is released and the public will see that Vilma is not guilty of helping start, fund and participate in a bounty system.

"The evidence is not what the commissioner says it is," he said. "At the end of the day, I think all of you will come to the conclusion that what the commissioner has been accusing Jonathan and the others of doing is not correct. It's not accurate. It was said publicly in an irresponsible manner. I think that's why we haven't received the evidence. And I think that's the commissioner's biggest fear that at some point we will find the right forum that will make the commissioner answer for what he's said and what he's done."

Ginsberg said Vilma continues to work out and rehab at the Saints' facility while his appeal is pending. He's had some success in past dealings with the NFL, as he represented Pat and Kevin Williams during their appeal to the NFL of the StarCaps suspensions. 


(nola.com)