One can gather from that document...
-Hargrove knew of the bounty system
-Hargrove lied about his knowledge of the bounty system
-Hargrove's lies helped protect the bounty system which in turn makes him an active participant of the operation of the bounty system.
Yes, he doesn't come out and say there was a bounty program, but we already know there was. Williams admitted that. With that in mind, Hargrove had to have known about a bounty system because he was being investigated because he apparently spilled the beans about it to another player. He was told to "deny knowledge of it" by coaches. One can gather that the denial of the bounty is him participating in the operation of the bounty system. None of it is outright, but you're looking at the document in a vacuum.
Mary Jo came out and told the public "Hargrove submitted a signed declaration to the league that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it."
She says that Hargrove submitted a signed declaration that established:
-The existence of the bounty program;
-That Hargrove knew of the existence of the program;
-That he particpated in it.
The declaration does none of the three.
Here is the thing that you are missing. At the time Mary Jo publicly characterized the affidavit it was not yet available to the public. She wasn't merely arguing about what she infered from a document that was available to everyone so that they could decide for themsleves whether they agreed with her or not. She was mischaracterizing evidence at a time when the listeners were dependant on her to accurately describe the evidence.
This should tell you two things: 1. Mary Jo is an advocate, not a neutral, and 2. it is important to see the evidence itself and not rely the NFL's characterization of the evidence.
As Jay noted the affidavit was drafted by a lawyer -- the contents were carefully selected. Moreover, this is not the result of Mary Jo being a poor reader. She is a lawyer, and she knew what the affidavit said and what it did not.
Think about this, the NFL claims to have reviewed 50,000 pages in its investigation. Out of those 50k pages the NFL has selected exactly two pages to parade before the public. The Hargrove affidavit and the Ornstein e-mail. Neither is the smoking gun that the NFL claimed.
I am not saying that "nothing happened." I am saying that it is time to quit accepting everything the NFL claims at face value.
A mentor of mine used to say, "I first learn what my case is really about when my client is deposed." Cross examination is a powerful tool for getting to the truth. We have not had that here and Goodell is just as prone as anyone else to making the mistake of falling in love with his "case."