NFL, NFLPA quickly accept invitation to use Magistrate Judge for settlement talks

[Tony2046]

I realize that will be the popular thought, and we all want to see the 4 games reduced to nothing for a 100% Tom Brady "win."

The reality, unfortunately, is that there may be a middle ground that we'll have to accept, and the "non compliance" punishment may offer the NFL the ability to save face. We'll know soon enough.

I get it. I do think that Brady may be a little more stubborn than most in that he will want to maintain his innocence and won't accept anything other than .......blah blah blah.....but I do understand your point.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

Here is the truth. If Brady accepts ANY fine or suspension, even if he doesn't have to admit any guilt, he loses, and loses big time. ANYTHING but complete exoneration means that Brady can be tagged as a cheater and NO ONE can claim differently. THAT would be his lasting legacy. I cannot understand how anyone who is actually innocent can accept that, especially someone as pathologically competitive as Tom Brady.

The ONLY "settlement" that I think can work for the slimy NFL (so I hope it doesn't happen), is if the NFL admits that they aren't sure anything actually happened, so they will suspend the penalties to Brady and the Pats until they can analyze the ball pressure procedures they put into effect for the 2015 season, and those measurements are correlated.

The NFL gets to reinstate the punishments IF that analysis confirms something happened. (which we all know won't happen). And they don't have to answer to the bag job they did on the Pats from the Mort report on. Brady gets his suspension and fine lifted. The Pats get their draft picks back (subject to later analysis, which will just prove their innocence)

In other words the NFL can play Rosanne Rosannadana and gets to say "Nevermind!" and we all can move on and the haters can say we got away again. Which is why I really don't want the NFL to go this route. It's a deal I think the Pats and Brady would have to take, but one that leaves the stain.
This would be the SMART move for the NFL. Fortunately that group is being run by Roger Goodell so there is a VERY good chance that he won't take it.

If you use that logic then the patriots are cheaters because kraft accepted the penalties and no one can claim differently.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Interesting take but how to do you accept a one game suspension for non compliance if you have not done anything to begin with? Non compliance for not turning over your phone? If Brady truly feels he is innocent of this mess how would he agree to any non compliance issues? I wouldn't.

If Brady is innocent of all charges then any penalty is unacceptable.

A just world: If Brady is innocent of all charges then any penalty is unacceptable.

The frequently unjust world we find ourselves in (one where bad people like Goodell and Wells are wealthy and powerful): Innocence is a secondary issue. Primary issue is the Goodells and Wells of the world hold so much power that an all fight against them has poor chances of succeeding.

I wish you were right. I also wish Brady would say 'F it! I'm fighting it to the end'. But given the world we do live in, if Brady is made an offer that can minimize the unjustness to a majority degree, he has to give it very serious consideration.
It's unfortunate but it is what it is; the chances of complete exoneration and complete victory are so dim you just have to weigh the benefits of taking a palatable deal. Then maybe down the line Karma will pay a visit to these two cruds.

 

[supafly]

I get it. I do think that Brady may be a little more stubborn than most in that he will want to maintain his innocence and won't accept anything other than .......blah blah blah.....but I do understand your point.

Sure am hoping that it doesn't come down to anything like this, but I'm a bit skeptical of a perfect scenario just the same.

I also don't want to see it drag on into the fall/winter like Jonathan Vilma's case did, although we'd all make that trade off for a Brady court victory.

 

[livinginthe past]

The psychology at work here (even at Patsfans) is pretty mindblowing.

We have genuine Patriots fans advocating for Brady to take anything from a fine to a 2 game suspension for simply being the victim of a sting operation by the NFL front office.

I can see how fans of other teams have been so brainwashed by this episode when we have people accepting such a huge miscarriage of justice in order to make this 'go away'.

I believe strongly that Brady will fight this to the bitter end because, quite simply, the NFL have left him little choice - any type of penalty will tarnish Brady's prestige even further.

Always remember that this was a premeditated attack on the Patriots by the NFL - you think by accepting any type of punishment that they'll simply leave the patriots alone in the future?

Anything but.

If the Patriots do not push back, and push back hard, there will be another scandal waiting for them in the next 6 months - almost guaranteed.

I have little doubt that there is already a plan in place to disparage the Patriots brand further regardless of the outcome of this case - and lets be real here - a LOT of commentators will be singing from the 'no smoke without fire' hymn sheet if another scandal erupts.

The NFL is rotten to the core and the only way for the Patriots and Brady to protect themselves for the future is to go nuclear.

 

[Fencer]

You're suggesting punishment first (suspension), with determination of guilt only coming later.

That's straight out of Lewis Carroll.

Interesting take Supa.
So if the NFL says to Brady "you take a one game suspension for non compliance. In turn we will suspend the verdict of guilt on the basis of our 2015 season wide PSI testing protocol. The matter is completely dropped and will not be commented on until the end of 2015 season. After the end of the 2015 season we will present all findings to a third party arbitrator. If the arbitrator deems the testing to show the Patriot football measurements to be within recorded range, the verdict of guilt will be reversed" (side notes: the NFL would never go for simply reversing the guilty verdict on Brady. It would be a long shot for them to even suspend it to study the 2015 season measurements -- as some sports writer suggested they do) (also I'm guessing the NFLPA would not lay down for a player being forced to give up their phone else be suspended).
Those realities aside, should Brady consider that hypothetical? It certainly would be a real shot for him to get a reversal of the verdict of not guilty/that he cheated. Just to get the decision of guilt out of the NFL's hands is a BFD. So does he take a suspension in order to once and for all get his 'guilt' out of the hands of the NFL/in front of a third party as well as the chance to end it much more easily and cheaply? I think Brady would have to give it definite consideration. I think he has to give any offer serious consideration that could reverse the NFL declaring him guilty of 'cheating'. That in itself is such a big win for him it almost makes the suspension just a mere part of the cost to get that victory.

 

[DarrylS]

As the sides are so polarized and this has become so contentious, not confident that this case can be settled by discussion with a magistrate.

On one side the NFL has the CBA and on the other the NFLPA has common sense and due process, not sure who will prevail. As much as I like Brady's argument and agree, there are a lot of extraneous forces at work here..

Still pinch myself every day that this 'equipment violation' has gotten to be such a big deal.. the NFL completely crapped the bed on how they handled this case and how their strategic leaks led to some very unintended consequences..

I do look forward to some media leaks by the NFL on either 8/11 or 8/12 that will cloud the issue even more..

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

That's my concern as well. I can envision a scenario where they release the numbers showing that minimal change in pressure occurred, when the fine print would be from the last four Miami home games.

Something shady like that.

I've made similar comments.

All they would have to do is allow the balls to "warm up" to show the IGL doesn't make them drop. They would have to test the footballs under all conditions and that would include cold/wet/outdoors (prefer outdoors where a camera could be placed on them).

 

[goheels22002]

http://www.pli.edu/Content/Faculty/Hon_James_C_Francis_IV/_/N-4oZ1z13exl?ID=PE442617

Judge Magistrate Francis spent time at Yale and Harvard, written some on corporate law ethics. He's got to have a problem with the Jets, Pash and Wells.

Gotta love this guy's siding with the innocent victim where evidence has been destroyed:


19-0.

 

[farn]

Where I'm from, people who lie and steal are seen as the lowest of the low. If Brady is innoccent - as many of us believe - there is NO compromise. The man who yelled about honor and family honor before going out and winning the Superbowl a few months ago should NOT accept any deal whatsoever.

They want to keep it to 4 games because an innoccent man (facing NO proof!) refuses to accept a deal ? So be it. If Tom Brady lives in a place where an innoccent man is punished by a Judge because he refuses to accept an unjust punishment in the face of zero proof, then I weep for humanity.

Screw the League and screw procedure. The innoccent needn't accept guilt. I will be much much more dissappointed if Brady caves to 1 game than if he sticks to his word and gets 4.

 

[PatsWSB47]

http://www.pli.edu/Content/Faculty/Hon_James_C_Francis_IV/_/N-4oZ1z13exl?ID=PE442617

Judge Magistrate Francis spent time at Yale and Harvard, written some on corporate law ethics. He's got to have a problem with the Jets, Pash and Wells.

Gotta love this guy's siding with the innocent victim where evidence has been destroyed:


19-0.

Let's see the NFL* try and make a big deal about Brady's phone with this guy!

 

[turkeyneck]

I hope Francis is more on the ball about IGL than, say, your typical journalist or football executive.

 

[Halifax_Pats_Fan]

If you use that logic then the patriots are cheaters because kraft accepted the penalties and no one can claim differently.

Correct....I would have to agree with that. Any penalty of any kind here is confirming guilt, in any court, public or legal.

...and to be honest with you I think a lot of fans and those that do not follow the NFL think we are guilty anyways. I also want Brady to be totally exonerated. Not to say 'at least give us that'...no no, that is what this team and especially great qb deserves. He does not deserve a favor, he deserves respect.

Prior procedures of handing balls were full of holes man. This whole thing is just a pathetic and colossal waste of time, money and effort.

I wish they would have taken the money spent on this garbage and put it into inner city programs for youth, cancer/heart disease research, or any other admirable cause. I choose to believe the NFL has a responsibility to take some of that good fortune that hard-working fans of this League has generated and spend it to help communities. Spending on this garbage...?... it's just a complete joke...

 

[patfanken]

I realize that will be the popular thought, and we all want to see the 4 games reduced to nothing for a 100% Tom Brady "win."

The reality, unfortunately, is that there may be a middle ground that we'll have to accept, and the "non compliance" punishment may offer the NFL the ability to save face. I hope not. I hope it all works out like we've been hoping for six months. We'll know soon enough.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG - Sorry Sup, but I know that a number of people here are playing the "non-compliance" card as a way of reaching the "settlement" that some people think the Judge is asking for. That would be a HUGH mistake for Brady. Why? Because by the Welles report's own words, Brady was in compliance.

Welles is on record saying he didn't need Brady's physical phone (as fact that needs to be put out there more often). So where can you say he's been none compliant. You DON'T settle when virtually ALL the evidence is on your side. Why would a judge penalize someone for THAT????!

I know that overturning arbitration rulings are bard. But most arbitration cases aren't conducted with the kangaroo court procedures like the NFL's, That's why I was saying the ONLY way the NFL can get out of this mess with ANY sense of dignity is to offer to postpone the punishment, and eventually clear Brady quietly after the dust settles

Unlike you and some others, I believe that TIME is our ally. Certainly the truth will not change everyone's mind, but most will be willing to eventually see how corrupt the league offices have become. You can see it happening even now. There is a chance that most will see the truth of this matter. However if Tom accepts ANY penalty, no matter how small, that chance will be extinguished forever.

 

[MassPats38]

Here is the truth. If Brady accepts ANY fine or suspension, even if he doesn't have to admit any guilt, he loses, and loses big time. ANYTHING but complete exoneration means that Brady can be tagged as a cheater and NO ONE can claim differently. THAT would be his lasting legacy. I cannot understand how anyone who is actually innocent can accept that, especially someone as pathologically competitive as Tom Brady.

The ONLY "settlement" that I think can work for the slimy NFL (so I hope it doesn't happen), is if the NFL admits that they aren't sure anything actually happened, so they will suspend the penalties to Brady and the Pats until they can analyze the ball pressure procedures they put into effect for the 2015 season, and those measurements are correlated.

I cannot envision any scenario in this procedure in which Brady will be exonerated. "Lack of evidence" or "inability to prove" will not cut it in the eyes of those calling him a cheater right now. For example, if you believe OJ killed his wife, then you likely did not change your position when the jury could not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the unsatisfying aspect of evidentiary standards and the failure to meet them in court.

Failure to cooperate is not cheating. Not doing everything you possibly can, not acquiescing to an unreasonable request, would seem to be neither here nor there with the cheating claim. That area is exceedingly grey, so how does a small fine (an exceedingly large fine would suggest something more) constitute a loss?

As for the NFL, if they do that now (7 months after the fact - an immediate admission would have been the soundest course of action), then they are cooked. That would be tantamount to admitting that its disciplinary procedure is a kangaroo court and it has strained to convict a marquee player and smear his good reputation without any real evidence of wrongdoing. It could invoke the "for the good of the shield" mantra and bail with the aforementioned offer to Brady in order to avoid this issue coloring the focus on the regular season. But as I suspect part of this has been to solidify disciplinary procedures in the future, acknowledging procedural failures in this case would be like a bullet to the head of NFL credibility for future proceedings.

 

[SVN]

From the NFPLA

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
Tom Brady, NFLPA

to

August 12.

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
The judge ordered us to be there in person, people. Why would we consider otherwise?

Sounds like more BS from breer to make the pats look bad

 

[RobertWeathers]

From the NFPLA

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
Tom Brady, NFLPA

to

August 12.

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
The judge ordered us to be there in person, people. Why would we consider otherwise?

Sounds like more BS from breer to make the pats look bad

When are these friggan, brain-dead reporters going to start looking at these scoops with a skeptical eye, consider the potential agenda that the source has and put in a little extra effort in getting multiple sources to validate/invalidate their tip.

Breer is not practicing journalism. He is a gossip columnist with an employer who wants to win a court case. I trust Perez Hilton more than anyone who reports on this story.

L-A-Z-Y.

 

[raduray]

You know what? If I were Brady, here's an offer I might make: "I'll sit one game, on the grounds of non-compliance, on two conditions: (1) we get to pick the game before the season begins, and (2) you drop the 2016 penalty on the Patriots to a fourth."

I'm not saying he should, merely that I might in his shoes.

Forget Brady for a second. There's no way the NFLPA accepts this. It would create an awful precedent.

 

[XLIX]

From the NFPLA

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
Tom Brady, NFLPA

to

August 12.

George Atallah ‏@GeorgeAtallah 3h3 hours ago
The judge ordered us to be there in person, people. Why would we consider otherwise?

Sounds like more BS from breer to make the pats look bad

It was reported the judge said "I will consider allowing someone to participate by phone if absolutely necessary."

The stupid media people took that statement and derived "Tom Brady asked if he could call in by phone!! He might not show up in person!!"

Nice to see Atallah confirm what we in here knew all along.

 

[SVN]

It was reported the judge said "I will consider allowing someone to participate by phone if absolutely necessary."

The stupid media people took that statement and derived "Tom Brady asked if he could call in by phone!! He might not show up in person!!"

Nice to see Atallah confirm what we in here knew all along.

But for the media nationaally it is bad pr. I was listening to some show on cbs while driving to work with tiki barber and some guy and he was asking is tom brady arrogant or not taking it too seriously to first ask if attending on a phone ? Has the hands of the NFL PR machine all over it.