Disturbing news is coming out of the NFL today as the Associated Press is reporting that the New Orleans Saints are going to court to keep private e-mails from going public. What makes these private e-mails so disturbing is the fact that they are in connection with New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archdiocese which has been accused of numerous sexual abuse scandals. According to the report, team executives allegedly helped the archdiocese in covering up some of the crimes while providing public relations aid.

“Obviously, the Saints should not be in the business of assisting the Archdiocese, and the Saints’ public relations team is not in the business of managing the public relations of criminals engaged in pedophilia,” attorneys said. “The Saints realize that if the documents at issue are made public, this professional sports organization also will be smearing itself.”

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The archdiocese is also looking to keep these e-mails private. Saints officials have called these claims “outrageous” and are adamant they never helped the church in such a way. The team’s owner, Gayle Benson, is known as a devout Catholic and has ties to the church. In addition, it has been said that the e-mails sent to the church have NFL.com domains. 

As of right now, the NFL has yet to comment on the case. In the coming weeks, the court will hear arguments over whether or not these documents should be released for public consumption. Should these e-mails be released, the Saints could be in a whole heap of trouble.

Stay tuned for updates as we will be sure to bring them to you.