Phil Anselmo Defends His Beloved New Orleans Saints in Wake of Suspensions

In addition to being one of the most formidable and talented vocalists in metal, Phil Anselmo is a diehard football fan, namely of the New Orleans Saints, winners of Super Bowl XLIV. However, in recent weeks, the team’s head coach and select players were levied major suspensions by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being caught putting bounties on players.

The team is accused of offering monetary compensation to players in exchange for injuring opponents on the field. As a result, coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year, as was linebacker Jonathan Vilma. When Loudwire chatted with Anselmo about Pantera‘s ‘Vulgar Display of Power’ reissue, we had to find out his  opinion about this sensitive and sensational, headline-grabbing situation.

“The f—ing league has handed out a penalty without having a case,” the singer said. “It’s very interesting that it comes at a time when the NFL is being sued by multiple f—ing plaintiffs about and former players dealing with concussion related things, memory loss and [the recently deceased] Junior Seau. It doesn’t help at all. The Saints are good for the city; we take pride even when we were the biggest f—ng losers, we found pride in that.”

In addition to his informed opinion on the matter, Anselmo knows some of the players on a personal level, so he sees how they are affected by this situation off the field. He revealed, “I am friends with a lot of defensive players and linebackers and I’ve met Jonathan Vilma, who is being crucified. He is a fantastic individual. I think the league is reaching here. The NFL is leaving themselves wide f—ing open that a battle I don’t think they even want.”