More settlement negotiations through the press (Newsday)

[flasox27]

You are both at least partially right (cmass, you are right, but joe6's thoughts still apply as below) .

Go-to-hell sure wasn't RK's choice at the initial hire, but RK sure pushed his weight around to REHIRE/EXTEND the clown, and that was AFTER 2007-camera-gate. Some of the other owners were fence-sitting about going thru a new selection vetting process, and bob went national press to say way a great job he was doing.

I couldn't believe it then, and based on that I can't fault anyone who says bob only has himself to blame for deflate gate

Absolutely correct sir, Kraft was played for the fool and and the pats and its fans are paying the penalty for it now and in the future.

 

[Tony2046]

I'm not defending Wells, but your hyperbole doesn't serve us well. After first asking for the phone, Wells stated that he'd be willing to accept any Deflategate related texts/emails on the phone, as determined by Brady/Yee. Brady declined the compromise.

Yes I know. It was a poor attempt in demonstrating privacy issues.

 

[SVN]

I get the feeling it will get settled. And possibly on terms us pats fans wont like . I hope it doesnt and brady doesnt accept any games but if there was any truth to the rumor last week that brady was willing to accept any sort of suspension, the NFL will now drive that in the negotiations at the 11th hour putting it on PA/Brady what they want and what they are willing to show in good faith in front of the judge in terms of working towards a settlment.

 

[SVN]

Dont settle. A four game suspension with no admission of guilt lasts a season. A settlement (essentially admitting guilt), last FOREVER!!. I don't see TB doing that. And I hope he doesn't.

Brady's side was alreayd ready to settle when kessler opened the door during the first hearing that brady couldve cooperated better. So you have to be prepared this might happen.

Again, we dont know how brady feels. Easy for us fans to say , dont accept , go down fighting and live with 4 games it it happens but the man in the middle of it -brady- may have a lot of different feelings about it. If it comes down to 1 game suspension with no admission of guilt on 11th hour negotiation on aug 30th vs him sitting our 4 games , what does he feel about it. ? Its a lot of pressure and mental stress to imagine which cant place ourselves in.

 

[raduray]

Yes I know. It was a poor attempt in demonstrating privacy issues.

Yes I know. It was a poor attempt in demonstrating privacy issues.

I'm not advocating that he should have turned over the messages either. Just want to make sure we argue the correct facts

 

[Fencer]

AND.....guess what? It worked so well we even have posters on this board nonchalantly throwing around NYJFL propaganda by using the word "destroy" in this very thread. (ASHAMED? ANY OF YOU?)

You're over the top with that bit. Brady delegated the destruction of his cell phone. The proper defense is not that he didn't "destroy" it, but rather "So what's the big deal if he did?"

 

[SVN]

Thanks for catching this. We have no way of knowing Glauber's source(s), but it's unlikely he's spinning it out of thin air (such as Mort or Volin might do). (Gary Myers of The Daily News has been floating trial balloons for the League throughout this mess, so I'm going to read his column tomorrow with interest.)

But I don't think either Brady or the NFLPA can accept the guts of what Glauber has written (see below). Nowhere is it said that a player has responsibility for equipment, so Brady can't accept responsibility for that. Also, I don't see Brady accepting any Suspension. However, what this suggests to me is that the NFL is probably desperate to settle. Brady has more flexibility since he is in charge of his own destiny, but Goodell has to take into consideration what 31 owners want and a lot of them are probably intransigent.

Also, I think (based on no information or knowledge) that Judge Berman's Clerk is probably writing his ruling this weekend and that Berman will be ready to rule from the bench on Monday, maybe after giving both sides a couple of hours to reach a Settlement.

"The NFL wants an acknowledgment of wrongdoing from Brady, but there could be a way to agree on a statement in which the quarterback acknowledges in a broader sense that mistakes were made and that he is the one who ultimately bears responsibility for the preparation of footballs used in the game. Brady is unwilling to say he or Patriots equipment staffers John Jastremski and Jim McNally actually tampered with the footballs. But a careful wording of his acceptance of some accountability could be enough for him to not admit guilt yet still accept a sanction that upholds the NFL's authority to impose such a penalty."

I asked steph stradley about this quote

Stephanie Stradley ‏@StephStradley 7m7 minutes ago
Stephanie Stradley retweeted vs
Bleep that noise. So dumb. Why does NFL need a confession if he maintains nothing happened? A Cersei shame walk too?

 

[Fencer]

if there was any truth to the rumor last week that brady was willing to accept any sort of suspension,

Those rumors have never sounded credible to me.

Fine? Plus vague sense of wrongdoing for not cooperating re the phone? Those settlement rumors have sounded plausible. But that's all.

 

[Fencer]

I hope there's no settlement, because I think Brady has more leverage with a defamation suit threat than he now cares to think about.

 

[patsfan13]

He shouldn't accept any suspension or admission of guilt, he did NOTHING wrong.

This is about the legacy of the best QB in the history, f the vindictive, spiteful motley collection of ex jet exec, losers from a loser org.

 

[RayClay]

I'm not defending Wells, but your hyperbole doesn't serve us well. After first asking for the phone, Wells stated that he'd be willing to accept any Deflategate related texts/emails on the phone, as determined by Brady/Yee. Brady declined the compromise.

I don't believe Wells ever asked for his phone. do you have a quote to that effect?

 

[PatsFanSince74]

yes with two targets, Bristol CT and just 245 Park Ave in NYC

345...and if you hit it, you'll get me and my family...but I would go in a noble cause!

 

[RayClay]

Yes, he made that compromise offer, but he didn't say that there would be no penalty if that offer were to be rejected. OTOH, he also didn't say that there would be a penalty if the offer were to be rejected.

"And I want to be crystal clear: I told Mr. Brady and his agents, I was willing not to take possession of the phone. I said, ‘I don’t want to see any private information.’ I said, ‘You keep the phone. You, the agent, Mr. Yee, you keep the phone, you give me the documents that are responsive to this investigation, and I will take your word that you have given me what’s responsive. And they still refused.”

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/05/ted-wells-i-would-have-taken-printouts-of-tom-bradys-texts-emails/

"Specifically, it can be found at footnote 11 on page 12: “After the hearing and after the submission of post-hearing briefs, Mr. Brady’s certified agents offered to provide a spreadsheet that would identify all of the individuals with whom Mr. Brady had exchanged text messages during [the relevant time] period; the agents suggested that the League could contact those individuals and request production of any relevant text messages that they retained. Aside from the fact that, under Article 46, Section 2(f) of the CBA, such information could and should have been provided long before the hearing, the approach suggested in the agents’ letter — which would require tracking down numerous individuals and seeking consent from each to retrieve from their cellphones detailed information about their text message communications during the relevant period — is simply not practical.”

In English, here’s what the footnote means: Although the text messages couldn’t be retrieved directly from Brady’s phone, his agents provided all of the phone numbers with which Brady exchanged text messages. His agents also said that the league could attempt to get the actual text messages from the phones of the people with whom Brady communicated, but the league refused to attempt to try, claiming that it would be too hard to track down the various people and to persuade them to cooperate."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...red-to-help-nfl-gather-missing-text-messages/

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I asked steph stradley about this quote

Stephanie Stradley ‏@StephStradley 7m7 minutes ago
Stephanie Stradley retweeted vs
Bleep that noise. So dumb. Why does NFL need a confession if he maintains nothing happened? A Cersei shame walk too?

we're close...so close I can taste it...but I don't want to get ahead of myself...

 

[RayClay]

I'm not advocating that he should have turned over the messages either. Just want to make sure we argue the correct facts

Your "facts" are wrong.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Absolutely correct sir, Kraft was played for the fool and and the pats and its fans are paying the penalty for it now and in the future.

I'm old enough to know that there are moments in everyone's life...especially in the lives of those who live in the public eye...there are moments that define the life of an individual...Robert Kraft defined himself when he capitulated in San Francisco in May...everything else is just a footnote or a gloss on the text...and, I think he knows it...

he is a decent man...and an accomplished man...but, at the most important moment he failed...he is as much to be pitied as he is to be reviled...and he deserves both...

 

[raduray]

I don't believe Wells ever asked for his phone. do you have a quote to that effect?

Wells asked for the phone. Brady refused. Wells asked for a compromise, for Brady and Yee to identify and turn over any texts relevant to Deflategate. The direct quotes:

And then I say, "Finally, we encourage you to
reconsider your decision to decline our request for
relevant e-mails, text messages and other material.
Our request is narrowly tailored to the subject of our investigation and we would rely on you to perform the requested searches and produce only responsive material. We are hopeful that you will reconsider our request."

The request what I asked for, I made clear I didn't want to take access to your phone. Mr. Yee can do it. I did not, as Mr. Kessler said -- I want to be clear -- I did not tell Mr. Brady at any time that he would be subject to punishment for not giving -- not turning over the documents. I did not say anything like that.

Brady refused. It's in the Appeals Transcript, p334-335.
Brady's team never challenged Wells' version of events. Note that Wells, in this testimony, supports Brady's claim of lack of notice.

 

[raduray]

Your "facts" are wrong.

I'd be interested in seeing your argument. Something more that "nah nah nah" would be useful. See my response to your earlier post above.

EDIT: After some additional research, I concede that the initial request was not for the phone, but rather for specific electronic text and emails having to do with the investigation. See my responses below for the specific Wells quotes. Sorry about the "nah nah nah", but you were not very specific about what it was that I was wrong about.

 

[SVN]

I know everyone is excited about defamation but from what I read of all these lawyers , its probably not happening. A lot of stuff comes out publicly including of his personal life whether related to the suit or not and brady may not want that.

 

[raduray]

I don't believe Wells ever asked for his phone. do you have a quote to that effect?

Here's another Wells quote from the transcript:

Now, this e-mail is from Mr. Yee to me. It is dated March 2nd. It says, "Dear Mr. Wells, nice to meet you. Then he says, "On Saturday, February 28th, Mr. Burns at your office sent an e-mail to Mr. Dubin requesting that we, on behalf of our client, request a search of his text and e-mail communications dated from September 1, 2014 to present. We have considered this request. However, we respectfully decline."

Note that he is requesting a search of the phone. My take is that this initial request is to make the phone available to be searched. A request for the phone.