Jonathan Vilma, the New Orleans Saints linebacker who has been embroiled in the bounty scheme saga, says that he will come off the physically unable to perform list after an equally lengthy battle with a knee injury.
“I’ll be allowed to practice, I’ll be allowed to play versus Tampa Bay (Sunday),” Vilma said, according to WVUE-TV in New Orleans.
Vilma’s lawyers, meanwhile, filed a 29-page motion Monday in a Louisiana court to vacate his season-long suspension, seeking “to put a halt to the ongoing and fundamentally unfair treatment of Jonathan Vilma by … Roger Goodell.”
In papers filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Monday, Vilma says Goodell engaged in a “farcical review” of his previously vacated disciplinary action before reaffirming the Saints linebacker’s full-season ban last week.
Although Vilma has an appeal pending within the framework of the NFL’s labor agreement, the linebacker argues that Goodell has continued to abuse his power and demonstrate bias, leaving no hope for a fair process that would respect Vilma’s “industrial due process rights.”
Vilma also asks U.S. District court Judge Ginger Berrigan to bar Goodell from handling any further action in the bounty matter and appoint a neutral arbitrator.
“Goodell’s manifest bias and partiality is palpable, reflected in his many judgmental, accusatory and unsupported public accusations against Vilma and manifested in a procedure he has invoked which rips at the heart of any notion of fundamental fairness and due process in order to punish Vilma for acts he did not commit,” the motion reads.
Vilma, who went on the PUP list in Week 2, has been dealing with the injury to his left knee since last season and has had numerous procedures, including the now popular platelet-rich plasma therapy in Germany.
“I’m feeling good, feeling good,” Vilma said, according to the station. “I know that the media hasn’t seen much of me for a while, but I’ve actually been working out, working hard, training hard so I can get to this point to be able to give our team a chance to win in Tampa Bay.”
Vilma was suspended for one season for his role in the Saints bounty scandal, but the penalty was vacated on a technicality. Goodell has now reinstated his suspension, and Vilma has appealed, along with Will Smith, Anthony Hargrove and Scott Fujita.
The appeal asks that Goodell recuse himself from the proceedings on the grounds that he can’t be impartial.
All four players are eligible to play or at least get paid until the NFL rules on their latest appeals. The new appeals hearings likely will take place a week from Tuesday, according to a source.
