WBRZ - Baton Rouge

NEW ORLEANS - Scott Fujita, a union leader with a record of criticizing the NFL's player-safety record, sees elements of a "smear campaign" in a bounty investigation that has sullied his reputation.

Some NFL players agree, and question whether Fujita's three-game suspension has something to do with retribution, especially since the linebacker was with the Saints for only the first of the three seasons covered by the probe.

As a member of the NFL Players Association's executive committee, Fujita has blasted the NFL's handling of concussions, attempts to expand the schedule and other health policies.

The NFL says it stands by findings that Fujita pledged "more than token amounts" to a Saints pool that paid in part for injury-producing hits, and that Fujita failed to present evidence to the contrary when given the chance.