Jeremy Shockey: I’m No Snitch

The New Orleans Saints have been heavily penalized by the NFL for offering players money to injure their opponents, and now people want to know who’s responsible for leaking the story. According to NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp, Jeremy Shockey is the snitch. But the free-agent tight end said that he would never talk publically about what goes on in the locker room.

Shockey said:

“It’s reckless, it’s careless, it’s hurtful to me and the great time I had with the Saints… Sean Payton is a father figure to me. I would never do that to him or to the Saints.”

Shockey also said that he would take a polygraph to prove that he didn’t snitch on his team.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell encourages players to come forward and report league violations. According to Yahoo, Goodell has repeatedly promised to protect the identity of the “whistleblowers.” Fox reports that whistle blowers are also protected by the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Los Angeles-based employment lawyer Arthur Whang told FOXSports.com:

“Sapp is technically a league employee… If Shockey is the whistle-blower, he is protected. So, by outing him, Sapp may have opened Shockey up to retaliation, such as someone not signing him.”

Shockey hasn’t talked about a lawsuit but he clearly wasn’t too happy with the accusation. The former Saint, who also played under coach Sean Payton in New York, said that Sapp’s comments unfairly attacked his character. Shockey said:

“Sapp can say what he wants about me, but if he really says that he’ll put his life on the line for his source, we’ll see. I’ve never been a guy who failed multiple drug tests. I’ve never been divorced. I don’t have four kids by four different women. I don’t lie. This attacks my character and it’s not fair.”

Do you think Jeremy Shockey told the league about the Saints’ bounty program? Do you think Warren Sapp should be fined for revealing the alleged snitch?