With Bountygate appeals, players ask Goodell to recuse himself

• All four players have filed appeals of their suspensions
• Players also have asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to recuse himself
• Defamation lawsuit against the commissioner will go forward

The fight will continue for the New Orleans Saints players implicated in the Bountygate case.

The NFL Players Association has confirmed Jonathan Vilma, Scott Fujita, Will Smith and Anthony Hargrove have appealed Commissioner Roger Goodell's reaffirmation of their suspensions. The players had until Friday afternoon to do so. It was clear from their reactions on Twitter and via statements following Goodell's attempt to compromise on the suspensions on Tuesday that they would reject such an attempt.

Fujita and Hargrove had their penalties reduced, Fujita from three games to one and Hargrove from eight to seven games. Vilma was offered the opportunity to keep his game checks during the six weeks he spent on the physically-unable-to-perform list, provided he accept a suspension for the rest of the season.

Smith's suspension remained at four games.

"It will depend on what the Commissioner does,'' NFLPA assistant executive director of external affairs George Atallah told USA TODAY Sports when asked about the next course of action.

In addition, Atallah confirmed the players have asked Goodell to recuse himself in the case.

"Jonathan joined the other three players. We're representing the other three," Atallah said. "We've asked Roger to recuse himself, if he decides to do that, we'll go forward one way. If he doesn't want to recuse himself, then we have a couple of options. We can go through the appeal or go straight to the judge in New Orleans.''

Vilma's lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, told USA TODAY Sports last month his client's defamation suit against Goodell would be dropped only if the suspension would be dropped. Since Goodell reaffirmed Vilma's suspension for the rest of the season, the defamation suit will continue. The sides are waiting for the magistrate to rule whether discovery on Goodell, as well as former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and assistant coach Mike Cerullo, will be permitted. The discovery includes a request for a deposition from Goodell on Oct. 23.

During the appeal process, the players will be permitted to continue playing – or, in Vilma's case, to begin playing next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – and collecting game checks. Perhaps the player with the most to lose is Hargrove, who remains unsigned after the Green Bay Packers cut him in August.

Hargrove could have opted to drop his appeal, accept the final two weeks of his suspension and try to sign with a team. However, he will continue to fight alongside his former teammates.