U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman continues to urge for a settlement in the Tom Brady suspension case.
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The New England Patriots open the NFL season at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 10.
The NFLPA claims NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was not an impartial arbitrator and his decision was inherently flawed and should be vacated, thus lifting Brady’s suspension.
Repeating his sentiments from a similar hearing a week ago which Brady and Goodell attended, Berman said that he saw strengths and weaknesses in both side’s arguments.
Berman’s remarks came at the outset of a hearing over whether the judge should confirm or vacate Goodell’s July 28 decision confirming Brady’s suspension.
Neither Brady nor Goodell was present Wednesday.
Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady could soon be free of his four-game suspension for allegedly deflating footballs. Regardless, the overall tone from Berman was clear: There are issues with the way the NFL handled the investigation and ruling.
However, the settlement talks didn’t go well, according to reports, the Brady now plans to be with the Patriots at practice Wednesday in West Virginia.
That report – which found that Brady was “generally aware” of footballs being deflated – didn’t escape Berman’s scrutiny.
However, settlement discussions on Brady’s attempt to overturn a four-game suspension have gone “nowhere”, according to the report. In one exchange, he questioned Goodell’s defense of the Brady punishment on the grounds that it was comparable to penalties on players caught using performance enhancing drugs. The judge again apparently displayed concern with the language and the appeal process, adding that Brady’s “general awareness” that was described by Wells didn’t refer specifically to the AFC championship game, saying that was “conspicuously absent”.
Nash told the judge each was about gaining a competitive advantage and was about the integrity of the game. He planned to meet privately with each side after court.
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The Patriots’ victory in that game allowed the team to advance to the Super Bowl, where they beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. “It’s clearly a fair question to pose. Taking the record as a whole, [NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell] determined four games”.
