Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith to attend bounty hearing

Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith have said that they will attend a hearing into the New Orleans Saints' bounty scheme on Friday.

The duo will fly to Washington DC straight after the Saints' Thursday night game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is to give evidence about the scheme, which allegedly saw Saints defensive players offered cash bonuses to injure opponents.

Smith told reporters: "They're accusing us of things we didn't do. That's part of the things that we wanted all along was to face our accusers."

Smith and Vilma were among a number of players handed suspensions for their roles in the scheme, along with some coaches including head coach Sean Payton.