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Joe Vitt's anger, frustration and wit displayed in New Orleans Saints bounty appeals testimony | NOLA.com

Among the most incendiary details that have not been previously reported was Vitt's allegation that former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams once promised rewards to players if they would knock down or take out the knees of assistant coaches from other teams on the sideline when a tackle carried over off the field. Vitt, however, stressed that he made sure the players knew such practices were unacceptable. Vitt repeatedly described Cerullo as a "liar" and once as an "idiot." Vitt repeatedly threatened to sue Cerullo and offered to compare stories with him while hooked up to lie detector tests. Vitt recounted many of the alleged lies Cerullo told while working for the Saints - including the alleged story about his fiancée and a child being seriously injured in a car accident. And he referenced the time Saints Coach Sean Payton needed to ask for police protection for his family when he was out of town because he considered Cerullo a threat. Vitt was also clearly upset with the way the NFL handled its investigation, repeatedly suggesting that investigators Jeff Miller and Joe Hummel lied about how many players and coaches had offered testimony about the Saints' alleged bounty program - when in fact, he believes they only had the accusations of Williams and Cerullo. Vitt also said that Saints owner Tom Benson was so upset with the way Miller levied the initial accusations against his team that he had Miller barred from the Saints' facility. After that, meetings with NFL investigators took place at a hotel. "Now we're going to try and sell it to the public? Sean is suspended for a year, Mickey Loomis for eight weeks? We have a director of security come down and intimidate our owner, he's got to be kicked out of the building. Who got hurt? Who was maimed? Look at the film. Who are we gonna sell this to? Somebody tell me who we're going to sell this to. This is a dilemma, boys, ladies, gentlemen. This is a dilemma. How are we going to sell this to our public, to our season-ticket holders? How are we going to sell this? Because you know I'm telling you the facts." After that, White said, "I have nothing further." And Vitt responded, "Yeah, I didn't think so." Vitt shared several insights about Saints players and coaches that weren't related to the bounty allegations. He divulged that Payton ultimately decided to fire Williams - or more accurately, part ways after Williams' contract ran out in 2012 - because he believed Williams was texting the Saints' draft picks to Times-Picayune columnist Jeff Duncan, which he considered the last straw in a number of conflicts with the coach.

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