Sean Payton: A Real Life Vader

I decided to go with one of the less popular sports scandal this week for my post, as I have chosen the "BountyGate" Scandal. This scandal involved the NFL team the New Orleans Saints, particularly their head coach Sean Payton. Players on the team were paid "bounties" or bonuses to injure players on the opposing team throughout the 2009-2011 seasons. This is somewhat analogous to Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader puts a bounty on Han Solo's head. Boba Fett, a bounty hunter captures Solo and gets the reward from the Empire. (as shown below).

And Solo is frozen in carbonite.

The analogy continues with Payton and Vilma, one of the Saints team captains

And their "bounty" Aaron Rodgers

The Effects
The New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, the same year allegations of bounties being made within the team. This scandal taints their Super Bowl win over the Indianapolis Colts (my favorite team at the time). Head coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, and two other members of the Saints' organization were suspended from the NFL. The entire organization was also fined $500,000 and were stripped of their second round draft picks in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Also, I believe the Saints lost a lot of fan support after their tactics were revealed to the public. I see them as breaking unwritten rules of football. However, some people still remain loyal to them to this day. Any thoughts, questions or sarcastic remarks can be left in the comments section. Also, if you want to learn more about this sports scandal you can visit here.