Bedard: Belief in league circles is NFLPA has found the perfect player & case to go big-game hunting

BigPeteG said:

I do think Goodell will eliminate the suspension - and that hurts Tom's ability to sue. I think that Kessler wants him to be suspended.. It's a dream for them. Labor law is really strong in this country. Punishing guys for not turning over private phones - that's not going to fly..

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If Goodell was smart that's what he would do, head off any problems with the NFLPA at the pass, but Goodells ego's bigger than his brain so he'll probably uphold the 4 games or try to reduce it which will mean full steam ahead for Brady and the NFLPA. I hoping Brady gets a chance to fight this.

Gronkowski123 said:

for some reason, i doubt anything will happen.
brady's out for 4 games. anyone who believes kraft " cut a deal " is naive. kraft doesn't give a **** about tb12

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As crazy as it sounds, we don't want a reduction. and we certainly don't want a reduction with, say, one game for not cooperating with the investigation. The best possible outcome right now is Goodell sticking to his guns, upholding the suspension and the integrity of the Wells report, and being absolutely eviscerated in court.

Kraft can go **** himself if there was any sort of backroom shenanigans in exchange for a reduced sentence for Brady. Actually, I'll take it one step further, if Brady sees a significant reduction, but the remaining penalty is for not cooperating, Booster Seat Bob needs to publicly apologize for being played a fool, and either step down or sell the franchise.

On the other hand, if such a scenario were to play out, the NFL PA still has a slam dunk case. See Brett Favres 50k fine for not handing over his cell phone in ****gate.

At the risk of being a Killjoy - I can't help but believe that, generally speaking, the NFLPA are just shills for the guys - controlled opposition if you will - to give the illusion of balance.

Sure, we see guys like De Smith duking it out with Goodell every now and then with some highly publicized spat over player discipline or whatever - but that stuff is WWE -lite.

Look at the career path of Troy Vincent from NFLPA to Goodells right hand man - there were rumors that Vincent gave inside info to Goodell while he was still with the NFLPA.

The best litigators tend to go where the money is - and as rich as Tom and Gisele are - they are no match for the 32 owners + TV networks etc - so i'm sure Kessler is made out to be a giant-killer but he won't get anything the NFL isn't already prepared to concede.

If there is a reduction on Brady's ban, then its a reduction that Goodell et al already allowed for with the original sentencing.

Think about it; in the NFLPA goes 'scorched earth' on this and seriously damages the NFL - where does that leave an organisation that relies totally upon the NFL for its survival?

Danny said:

When does Brady's appeal take place?

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I still think that Brady's team of lawyers will file a lawsuit first to have the suspension vacated if Goodell doesn't vacate it himself since it violated the CBA for anyone but Goodell to determine the penalty for off-field issues - and the correct venue to hear that CBA case is in court. I just don't see why Brady would go through an appeal of an illegal suspension - but I'm sure his lawyers know legal strategy better than me.

The process I envision is:
- the NFL refuses to vacate the suspension
- law suit filed in federal court
- judge vacates suspension since Goodell did not issue it
- Goodell imposes penalty as per the CBA (which may or may not be the same as existing)
- Brady appeals penalty including demanding an independent arbitor
- Goodell names himself arbitor
- Brady files suit in court for independent arbitor
- judge agrees that independent arbitor is needed particularly since Goodell is an important witness
- Brady wins conclusively in arbitration

My main worry is that the NFL will give up before an independent arbitor hears the case - and the public will never have the advantage of seeing someone independent rip the Wells report to shreds.

livinginthe past said:

At the risk of being a Killjoy - I can't help but believe that, generally speaking, the NFLPA are just shills for the guys - controlled opposition if you will - to give the illusion of balance.

Sure, we see guys like De Smith duking it out with Goodell every now and then with some highly publicized spat over player discipline or whatever - but that stuff is WWE -lite.

Look at the career path of Troy Vincent from NFLPA to Goodells right hand man - there were rumors that Vincent gave inside info to Goodell while he was still with the NFLPA.

The best litigators tend to go where the money is - and as rich as Tom and Gisele are - they are no match for the 32 owners + TV networks etc - so i'm sure Kessler is made out to be a giant-killer but he won't get anything the NFL isn't already prepared to concede.

If there is a reduction on Brady's ban, then its a reduction that Goodell et al already allowed for with the original sentencing.

Think about it; in the NFLPA goes 'scorched earth' on this and seriously damages the NFL - where does that leave an organisation that relies totally upon the NFL for its survival?

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The NFL will survive and prosper regardless of how this all plays out and I don't believe for a second that there is collusion between the 32 owners/TV Networks v NFLPA. They will all get along to play along, but the minute one side feels they can gain an edge they will take it. Kessler has bigger ambitions and his ego is just as big as Goodell's. If this goes to court, they will go for blood.

reneluar said:

Goodell doesnt know, he doesnt know anything, he only decided the penalty and will hear the appeal haha

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Anybody else noticed he said he hasn't had time to sit down and think about this yet? Remember Brady getting crucified for saying he hasn't had time to digest it yet? Kind of the same thing isn't it?

If Kraft continued to battle the NFL, Brady and the NFLPA would have additional ammo to further their cause. By accepting league punishment which will be perceived as a silent admission of guilt, the courts may refuse to even listen to the complaint (the appeal of the appeal) given the NE organization has accepted culpability. With Kraft's reversal, the league effectively eliminated a contentious issue.
Both sides are deep into this chess match....move and counter move. The NFLPA anticipated that the "32" would ultimately come together and unify....and for this reason the NFLPA is attacking the process.....not Brady's case. I suspect we will read more about Brady's rights as a union member than the actual uneven evidence against him. In fact, Brady may well indeed get liberated from his 4 game sentence but not from poorly constructed charges and evidence but because he was unfairly handled during the "process." I can hear the haters now....."Guilty Brady freed by loophole."
This will be fascinating. I fully expect Kraft to go into silent mode for an extended period. Imagine this owner vocally defending the league's position while the face of his team battles the "32."
What was the NFL thinking....going nuclear from day 1? For this reason alone, the owners need to reexamine the makeup of their Park Ave roster.
Personally, I hope Brady refuses to hand over his phone records and tells Goodell to get ready for court. And I hope Brady and the NFLPA issue a defiant statement declaring the union does not accept any judgements by this commissioner.
LETS GET IT ON!!

I don't see how Brady gets his suspension revoked, as this would practically exonerate the center-figure of this scandal of any wrongdoing. And so, the question that will be going around the league would be: well.... if Brady is exonerated, then why the fck did the league slap on a 1st, 4th, and a $1MM fine in the first place? If there was no wrongdoing, why punish that team?

Or the other option (probably more reasonable): the rest of the league would believe that the acceptance of team punishment was in exchange for Brady's suspension revocation.

One theory I heard (non-confirmed) is Kraft new he'd lose the suit because of that promise not to sue the league thing and got a promise from Goodell to make the appeal unacceptable to Brady and the NFLPA and he will help that suit.
Unconfirmed, and Kraft will have to be quiet in his helping Brady's suit, you know, attacks that hurt the NFL more than help it but he ca claim incompetence instead of underhandedness. Depending on how well he acts, this may never be confirmed. If Brady sues, wins, and we get the draft picks back, I will consider this a successful "Batman" gambit by Kraft. (Yeah, that is a big if.)
Definition of "Batman" Gambit for those curious. Oh, it has nothing to do with chess.

This is what I'm hanging my hat on now...the NFLPA is as committed to tearing down Goodell as Kraft is to propping him up. Troy Vincent has been in their crosshairs for years.

Screw Kraft and his pathetic response, he's shown his true colors and he's dead to us Pats fans. We can still get the justice we want through the NFLPA fighting this to the end and getting the truth out through an appeal to an independent arbiter. It's what we've wanted all along, get this to court where Goodell, Kensil, Grigson and others are forced to turn over documents and testify what their involvement was.

This may all fizzle out in a complete disappointment the way Kraft did, but this has always been the one avenue that seemed most logical, because the NFLPA isn't beholden to any 'one of 32' garbage and this entire house of cards can be exposed for what it is.

dannydyn said:

I don't see how Brady gets his suspension revoked, as this would practically exonerate the center-figure of this scandal of any wrongdoing. And so, the question that will be going around the league would be: well.... if Brady is exonerated, then why the fck did the league slap on a 1st, 4th, and a $1MM fine in the first place? If there was no wrongdoing, why punish that team?

Or the other option (probably more reasonable): the rest of the league would believe that the acceptance of team punishment was in exchange for Brady's suspension revocation.

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Well that'll be the logical next step, right? And we can all hope that's how it plays out: this case sees its day in court, evidence is brought forward that tears down Wells' report and shows the Pats complied to the best of their ability to the investigation while the league stonewalled and leaked false information. Then the media turns on the NFL and Goodell.

Is this how it plays, though? I could see an alternate scenario where the suspension is thrown out but the media's done with the story and the season's about to start (and MLB is in their playoffs) and so this never gets traction nationally. Because lets face it: once Kraft backed down the team penalties were taken off the table. Unless the Brady's appeal fully exonerates the team AND the media takes up the Pats case against the NFL (not entirely impossible, since we all know they love a controversy and nailing Goodell is almost as much fun as nailing the Pats), then the team penalties stand.

We'll see...gotta hope the NFLPA and Brady's team are ready to dig in and fight this one in court.

the league will try to kill this at some point by dropping the suspension

there is just way too much relevant poop on the NFL's hands to not be motivated to end this.....their reasoning will be no different than Krafts.....

Kraft bailed because he didn't have the stomach to burn down the house that he built......for years, the NFLPA has been standing there waiting with a match hoping someone comes around with a can of gasoline.....Integrity of the game? Watch as that house of cards gets blow down

The first thing that will happen is the basis of the issue - ball inflation.....the massive pink elephant that EVERYONE has ignored is that ball pressure comes down to one guy........the quarterback.......and they knew this long before there was any issue to start with.

The league can say that there only needs to be a 50.1% preponderance of evidence, but every time they do, they are admitting to their own railroading process.....the fact that they were standing there waiting for this to happen and wound up with the evidence that they did shows there simply was no wrongdoing.....the circumstances aren't even good

in the end, a 3rd grader could turn this into nothing more than a 'get Brady' situation

If the NFL tries to end it by lifting the suspension, then it is time for TB and the NFLPA to begin the defamation lawsuit.

lurker1965 said:

One theory I heard (non-confirmed) is Kraft new he'd lose the suit because of that promise not to sue the league thing and got a promise from Goodell to make the appeal unacceptable to Brady and the NFLPA and he will help that suit.
Unconfirmed, and Kraft will have to be quiet in his helping Brady's suit, you know, attacks that hurt the NFL more than help it but he ca claim incompetence instead of underhandedness. Depending on how well he acts, this may never be confirmed. If Brady sues, wins, and we get the draft picks back, I will consider this a successful "Batman" gambit by Kraft. (Yeah, that is a big if.)
Definition of "Batman" Gambit for those curious. Oh, it has nothing to do with chess.

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Yes, it is a confirmed story I did not hear. Yes, planning on people to act the way they do is not a Batman gambit. /sarcasm

Those of you making the argument that kraft accepting the penalties on the team means brady has no chance make no sense. The two are mutually exclusive

Saints lost draft picks and their coach for a season YET their players got their suspensions overturned

Nflpa and players hace more power to fight the league than the owners have

the league should be concerned

Brady doesn't have his entire career ahead of him.......in fact, he's got so much less to lose than the league does

With this "anything goes", no precedent, no evidence, just make things up as we go NFL; I wouldn't be surprised if Goodell increased Bradys suspension. Yes I do think hes that big of an idiot.

Regardless of the outcome, if Goodell hears it, they'll sue.

While I'm glad Brady is letting his lawyers and NFLPA do the talking for him, I do wish he would provide a statement for his fans

What Robert did has demoralized us....and it would be nice to have someone or something to rally around during this ****storm of a "scandal"

patsfan13 said:

I hope Brady guts the NFL then sues them for defamation.

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I'm rooting for this harder than I rooted for any Superbowl game.

BelichickFan said:

I'm starting to think this whole "excess penalty" is some huge NFL-NFLPA power play over the NFL's desire to be able to confiscate phones, or other communications devices, at will despite them having to right to do so. I'm not a lawyer, I certainly can't say for sure but we all know there's such a tiny bit of evidence for such monumental penalties. It seems like the perfect (imperfect for us) storm of the NFLPA having a superstar client vs. the NFL having the whole country's angst against the perennial cheaters so they can punish them however they like.

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This is the same point Steph Stradley made. Check out her twitter feed and articles. very good stuff.