Syracuse (WSYR-TV/AP) - Utica-Proctor graduate Will Smith was one of four New Orleans Saints players suspended by the NFL in the wake of revelations that team members participated in a pay-for-pain bounty system.
Smith, a defensive end who played college football at Ohio State, will be barred from playing for four games.
Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended without pay for the entire 2012 season by the NFL. Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, now with the Green Bay Packers, is suspended for eight games this season and linebacker Scott Fujita, now with the Cleveland Browns, will miss three games. All of the suspensions are without pay.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's ruling was announced Wednesday.
All four players have three days to appeal.
An NFL investigation determined that the Saints had a bounty system from 2009-11 that offered thousands of dollars to players for big hits that knocked opponents out of games.
