The NFLPA is arguing that the punishment is unfair under the CBA and that Goodell is acting arbitrarily. He repeated that “arbitration must be fair”, and doesn’t view it as such in this matter.
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But even if Berman sides with Goodell in the end, all that really happens is that the NFL commissioner manages to stop a four-case losing streak in court, which might be a world’s record for a guy with a job like his.
Meanwhile, CBSSports.com notes that according to several reports, Brady is open to accepting some for of suspension, but only if it’s for failing to cooperate with the NFL, as opposed to the reasons outlined in the Wells report.
“How could Mr. Goodell, in his decision to uphold the (four-game suspension), equate the act of intentionally deflating footballs to a player taking performance-enhancing drugs?” Judge Richard Berman grilled the NFL and took aim at the section of the Wells Report that Brady was “generally aware” of the tampering of footballs. Berman said that it doesn’t is “a bit of a problem” that a finding for that game is conspicuously absent.
“They both go to the integrity of the game”, responded NFL lawyer Daniel Nash. His agent, Tom Condon, has been negotiating a new deal, but the two sides are not close to an agreement, New York Giants co-owner John Mara said Monday.
“On the issue of notice, Mr. Goodell did issue a clear and reasoned statement which is echoed in the league’s Player Policy”, Nash said in his argument. That’s what arbitrators do.
NFL lawyers should have treated that Brady news as an opportunity, a lifeline for Roger Goodell and his embattled league office.
After indicating earlier on Tuesday that Brady planned to attend Wednesday’s session, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that Brady changed his mind and won’t be at the hearing.
Brady returned to practice with the Patriots on Wednesday in West Virginia, where the franchise was hosting joint sessions with the New Orleans Saints.
Berman scheduled the next hearing in the case regarding Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s suspension for August 31. If no settlement is reached by that point, Berman as marked September 4 as a potential date for a ruling.
The commissioner also accused Brady of obstructing the NFL’s probe into the controversy by destroying his cellphone containing almost 10,000 messages.
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The union said in its court filing that Brady was unfairly suspended because the NFL displayed “a clearly biased agenda – not an effort at fairness and consistency”.
