More information on the involvement of major league sports teams in New Orleans with the Catholic Archdiocese’s list of abusers; SNAP reacts
For Immediate Release: February 3, 2025
An in-depth report released today by Ramon Antonio Vargas of the Guardian and David Hammer of WWL Louisiana revealed that high-level executives with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints football team and the NBA’s Pelicans basketball team had a deeper role than previously known in connection with the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ list of “credibly accused” clergymen. SNAP is certainly not surprised by these revelations.
When powerful institutions get together to hide something, the weak and vulnerable are inevitably the ones who are harmed. The news that two professional sports teams coordinated with the Archdiocese of New Orleans to apparently hide the names of abusers should signal that the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church is more widespread and insidious than anyone could possibly imagine.
Sports are interwoven into the fabric of American life. Professional basketball and football franchises are valued at billions of dollars. Even though it has declared bankruptcy, the New Orleans Archdiocese is also a multi-billion dollar enterprise.
Powerful, rich people conspired to hide sex offenders to protect a brand instead of children. Shameful.
CONTACT: Letitia Peyton, Louisiana SNAP ([email protected], 337-308-9120), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175), Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)