“The league believes the time for those talks has come and gone, after the two sides had discussed a settlement last summer”.
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We are pleased the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game.
Berman said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “dispensed his own brand of industrial justice” concerning the Deflategate scandal.
The NFLPA could appeal the decision to the full 2nd Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court, but it likely would be a time-consuming climb even if the courts took the unusual step to consider it. A message was left Wednesday seeking comment from the union.
The perception that the union fell short on this issue gained steamed Monday when a federal appeals court ruled 2-to-1 that Goodell did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness with his procedural rulings. “We think that was the right decision”, Goodell said. Monday’s ruling overturns a lower court’s decision to vacate Brady’s suspension last season. “So, we think this is an important element of our success”.
It is possible Brady will appeal the latest ruling.
Were not going to sit here and hypothetically talk about what were going to do, Goodell said.
“We would expect to see prices to fall, but it won’t be something like 50% or anything”, Matcovich said.
Goodell has been criticized by some high-profile players, including Saints quarterback Drew Brees, for wielding too much power.
“I think no matter who they put in there, just like when [Drew] Bledsoe went down and Brady came in, I think [Jimmy] Garoppolo will be the same way”, said Dorazio.
Goodell said future negotiations with the NFLPA regarding the discipline process are not off the table. Circuit Judges Denny Chin and Barrington Parker ruled in favor of the National Football League, while Chief Judge Robert Katzmann dissented for Brady. Those were major wins for the players association because most disciplinary cases fall under these two categories. “We had a lot of discussions previous year”.
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But neither of those facts trumps Goodell’s authority on player discipline, because the collective-bargaining agreement gives him that power. “That you can’t entrust that to somebody who has no understanding of our business and, in fact, the appellate court yesterday reaffirmed that. We’re still open to doing that if there is a better system we’re willing to negotiate those things”.
