NFL asks filmmaker for Gregg Williams audio

Sean Pamphilon, the filmmaker who released audio of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams imploring his team to injure the 49ers during the NFC playoffs, told Yahoo! Sports that the NFL has requested his recordings as part of its investigation.

Pamphilon was filming a documentary on former New Orleans special teams player Steve Gleason, who has ALS, and his fight with the disease. Gleason last played for the Saints in 2007 and was in the San Francisco area for a doctor visit. The team invited Gleason to pregame meetings leading up to the NFC divisional round game, and Gleason in turn invited Pamphilon to San Francisco.

Yahoo! Sports reporter Michael Silver said on Twitter that he spoke with Pamphilon on Sunday, and the filmmaker told him, "NFL security called (four) times Friday. They want Gregg Williams tapes."

At the time of the 49ers game, Williams and the Saints were already the subject of an NFL investigation into their bounty program. That did not stop Williams from instructing his players to target certain players. He told his team to go after Alex Smith's, Frank Gore's and Kyle Williams' heads, Michael Crabtree's ACL and Vernon Davis' ankles, according to the audio.

Earlier this month, Pamphilon relayed some of the dialogue to Yahoo! Sports when he released the recordings:

At one point Williams says, 'We hit [expletive] Smith right there' -- then he points under his chin [and continues] --'remember me.' Then he rubs his thumb against his index and middle fingers -- the cash sign -- and says, 'I got the first one. I got the first one. Go get it. Go lay that [expletive] out.'

After releasing the audio, Pamphilon defending his actions and offered a lengthy explanation on his website:

If this story hadn't broken and been made public, I would not have shared this," Pamphilon wrote. "I would not have compromised my personal relationships and risked damaging Steve Gleason's relationship with the Saints.

If it weren't for the fact I feel deeply that parents of children playing football MUST pay attention to the influence of men who will sacrifice their kids for W's, I would not have written this.

Some will call me releasing this audio for fame or money grab. True haters will call it exploitation.

People of character and conscience call it was it is; tru.

Gleason later said he did not authorize the release of the audio and felt betrayed. "The Saints trusted me and gave us unlimited access in filming, and I, in turn, trusted Sean Pamphilon," Gleason said. "I feel deflated and disappointed. I feel frustrated and distracted."

Williams is facing an indefinite league suspension. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently upheld the one-year suspension of head coach Sean Payton, the eight-game suspension of general manager Mickey Loomis and the six-game suspension of assistant coach Joe Vitt.

The league also docked the Saints $500,000 and a second-round draft pick in the 2012 and 2013 drafts. Goodell could also levy punishment on the estimated 22-27 Saints players who participated in Williams' bounty program from 2009-11.

This article was written by Mike Eppers and appeared in USA Today.

Posted by Necesitamos Mas Football on 12:43 p. m.. Filed under Bountygate , Gregg Williams , New Orleans , nfc , noticias , principal , saints . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0