NFL Players Association Had Infamous Gregg Williams Tape Before Release

Apr 16, 2012 06:36 PM EDT

A week after the release of the infamous tape of former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the NFL Players Association said they had knowledge of the tape before its release to Yahoo.

"We learned of the tape as part of our effort to obtain any and all information related to an alleged pay-to-injure scheme," NFL Players Association assistant executive director George Atallah said.

Prior to its release, another former Saints player, Scott Fujita provided details of the speech that Williams gave to the Saints' defensive players prior to their playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Sean Pamphilon, a filmmaker who taped the speech, released an audio recording that showed Williams telling his players to injure players such as 49ers' Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Kyle Williams.

The speech exacerbated an already scandalous situation in light of the "bounty" program that came to light.  The Saints were handed down severe penalties including the indefinite suspension of Williams and a full season suspension of head coach Sean Payton.

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