A report from the Associated Press revealed that the New Orleans Saints are involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the local Catholic archdiocese, in which two dozen men have accused the church in being complicit in systemic abuse over past decades. The Saints’ role in court proceedings lies in 200-plus emails exchanged between team personnel and members of the archdiocese, including correspondence with Senior Vice President of Communications Greg Bensel.
Hours after this first AP report, the Saints released their own statement on what’s going on, characterizing their message to the archdiocese as an offering of full transparency and cooperation with law enforcement. Specifically, their core message read, “The advice was simple and never wavering. Be direct, open and fully transparent, while making sure that all law enforcement agencies were alerted.”
We’re just now getting very early insight into what will be a lengthy legal process, so the contents of the documents the Saints are trying to prevent from being made public is unclear. It’s too soon to speculate about what impact — if any — this will make on the organization at large, whether it means staffing changes, potential discipline per the NFL personal conduct policy, or Gayle Benson’s ownership of the team. We just don’t have enough facts to guess right now, and neither does anyone else. So check this space for updates in the near future.
