Ex-NFL Player Suing Over ‘Bounty’ Injury

08 Jul, 2013

A former NFL player is suing the Washington Redskins and former assistant coach Gregg Williams, saying a career-ending knee injury is the result of a bounty program where Redskins coaches encouraged players to intentionally injure opponents.

Barrett Green, a linebacker who played for the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants between 2000 and 2005, says a career-ending knee injury during a game on Dec. 5, 2004 was the result of a bounty program and a “unusual, outrageous, and an obvious cheap shot.”

After leaving the Redskins and spending one season with Jacksonville, Williams became defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints in 2009 and was considered the mastermind behind the bounty scandal that led to unprecedented sanctions from the NFL. He was suspended for one year by the league and is now a senior defensive assistant with the Tennessee Titans. The lawsuit also names former Redskins player Robert Royal, the tight end who hit Green.

The Redskins declined to comment Monday on the lawsuit.

At the time of the injury, Green was in the first year of a five-year contract worth more than $13 million, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims the injury cost Green approximately $10 million in lost wages from the contract as well as millions of dollars in future salary and benefits.

Green initially filed his lawsuit in May in state court in Maryland. It has since been moved to federal court in Greenbelt, Md., where it was listed publically Friday. A lawyer for Green, Michael McAllister, declined to comment Monday, as did the Titans. A message left for Royal through his foundation was not immediately returned.

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