Jonathan Vilma of the New Orleans Saints and his attorney, Peter Ginsberg, will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on their own Monday afternoon.
Vilma, who made the choice and decision, originally had been scheduled to meet with Goodell on Tuesday. Vilma told ESPN's Ed Werder in a text message that he's expecting a fair hearing.
Vilma walked out of a June 18 appeals hearing with Goodell, refusing to participate in what his attorney Peter Ginsberg described as a charade, and in August he requested a meeting with Goodell that he later canceled.
"I'm expecting a fair meeting, unlike the June 18 appeals hearing," Vilma said in the text. "We can all benefit from transparency regarding evidence and witnesses instead of using conjecture or hearsay to come to inaccurate conclusions. I look forward to getting this accomplished."
The other three players alleged to have been involved in the Saints' bounty scandal still will meet with Goodell on Tuesday in New York.
Vilma; Will Smith of the Saints; Scott Fujita, a former member of the Saints now with the Cleveland Browns; and Anthony Hargrove, a former Saints player who is a free agent, are facing possible renewed suspensions.
The original suspensions of those four players were vacated Friday by a three-member appeals panel. Vilma originally was suspended for the season, Hargrove for eight games, Smith for four games and Fujita for three games.
The NFL on Thursday issued a statement to clarify the ruling from the internal appeals panel under the collective bargaining agreement.
"In light of some confusion surrounding the ruling of the CBA Appeals Panel, it is important to understand what the panel did and did not rule," the league says. "The panel did not overturn the suspensions and did not say Commissioner Goodell overstepped his authority."
