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The New Orleans Saints are accused of playing a more extensive role in a July 2019 sexual abuse scandal against New Orleans Catholic priests than previously known, according to internal emails obtained by the Associated Press on Monday (February 3).
Team executives sought to keep records, including a list of predatory Catholic priests, out of public view in an effort to mitigate the fallout amid the team's devoutly Catholic owner, Gayle Benson, having a lengthy close relationship with embattled archbishop Gregory Aymond. Several other prominent New Orleans figures, including a sitting federal judge to the local media, also appeared to have showed support of church leaders during the scandal, according to the internal emails.
Key findings in the internal emails included the following:
- A Saints team spokesman being briefed by his boss on a 2018 call with New Orleans' top prosecutor hours before the church released a list of clergymen accused of abuse, which included the spokesman seeking approval "to take certain people off" the list.
- Team officials being among the first people outside of the church to have viewed and curated the list, yet undercounted the roster of suspected pedophiles, with the disclosure of the names inviting civil claims against the church and drawing attention from federal and state law enforcement.
- Team president Dennis Lauscha drafting more than a dozen questions to help Aymond prepare for addressing the scandal to reporters.
- Saints senior vice president of communications Greg Bensel providing updates to Lauscha regarding local media interviews, implying that team officials and church leaders were on the same team, which included writing, "He is doing well" in response to Aymond's navigating of the media during the crisis.
The internal emails contradict the Saints' assurance to fans five years ago that they only provided "minimal" assistance to the church and the NFL franchise reportedly went to court in an effort to keep them secret, according to the Associated Press
“This is disgusting,” said state Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, via the AP. “As a New Orleans resident, taxpayer and Catholic, it doesn’t make any sense to me why the Saints would go to these lengths to protect grown men who raped children. All of them should have been just as horrified at the allegations.”