Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended for one season without pay by the NFL for his role in a team bounty system that financially rewarded its players for knocking opponents out of games.
Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was said to be the mastermind of this system, was banned indefinitely for his part. Team general manager Mickey Loomis was also suspended for the first eight games of the regular season.
The team was also fined $500,000 and will have to give up its second round draft pick for this season and next.
With the safety of the game of football coming under fire in recent years, the last thing the NFL needed was a scandal that made an inherently violent sport even more dangerous.
The NFL had no choice but to act quickly and harshly. With the league facing current and possible future litigation from former players regarding concussions, the NFL needed to nip this in the bud before it started to mushroom.
Williams coached for several teams throughout his career, so this thing might not be nipped in the bud just yet.