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By Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com

Per a report from the AP Friday morning, the NFL's New Orleans Saints are heading to court to try and keep private 'hundreds' of emails that allegedly show team executives taking part in doing PR damage control for a sexual abuse crisis surrounding the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans.

Lawyers representing about two dozen men suing the church say they have acquired documents that show the Saints have aided the Archdiocese in a "pattern and practice of concealing its crimes".

Saints attorneys have called the claims "outrageous", and argue the emails were intended to be private. They say the communications would become "fodder for the public" if released. The archdiocese is also legally fighting against the release of the emails.

The Saints are owned by Gayle Benson, who took over ownership of both the Saints and the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans after the death of her husband Tom in 2018. Benson is a noted devout Catholic. Her and her husband were awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for their service to Catholic Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

The NFL has been informed of the matter because the email accounts used involved the '.nfl' domain. While the league has not yet released a statement, NFL policy does lay out repercussions for "conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in [the league]".

UPDATE:

The Saints issued a statement regarding the matter Friday afternoon:

New Orleans Saints on Twitter Statement from the New Orleans Saints: https://t.co/wqA54CR37S

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Hate mail? Let him hear it on Twitter @RealAlexBarth