The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... A speech recorded by a documentary filmmaker allegedly captures former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams imploring his players to injure specific San Francisco 49ers the night before January's NFC divisional-round playoff game.
Diehards Line:In the speech, a portion of which was captured by filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, Williams delivers a fiery, profanity-laced speech urging Saints players to inflict harm on several 49ers, including quarterback Alex Smith, running back Frank Gore, and wide receivers Michael Crabtree and Kyle Williams. "At one point Williams says, 'We hit (expletive) Smith right there' -- then he points under his chin (and continues) -- 'remember me,'" Pamphilon told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports. "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. ...'" It's unknown if the NFL got a hold of this audio during its investigation of the Saints' "bounty" program. Pamphilon captured the footage while working on a film about former Saints special-teams player Steve Gleason, who suffers from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. You can listen to the full audio HERE (parental advisory for language). ... Williams, now the St. Louis Rams' defensive coordinator, was suspended indefinitely by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his role in the "bounty" program. He did not appeal the punishment.