Kraft could still sue for team penalties, but he won't, because he's full of it

If he is that shocked and feels taken advantage of, there is absolutely nothing in the law book that says he can't change his mind and decide to sue the NFL to retrieve his huge fine and loss of draft picks. He never publicly acknowledged any wrongdoing and said he would not sue for the sake of the league; in court, that statement would not be held against him in any way. Unless there is a statute of limitations I am not aware of, I don't see why Mr. Wronged doesn't finally grow a pair and sue, considering now he should be even more damaged than in May. The fact he paid a $1M and suffered irreparable damage to both his brand and his greatest player, and STILL won't sue should tell you plenty.

He is the biggest joke owner I have seen in modern sports; any man who wants to look at himself in the mirror, having just gotten stolen from, lied to, and kicked, would be mounting a court carnage campaign at this very moment, ready to blow up everything from Goodell to Kensil to Irsay. Could you imagine what someone like Jerry Jones or the late George Steinbrenner would be doing this very minute? The league that you help to profit spits in your face, lies to you, and then throws you under the bus in a twisted, coordinated long-play?

Keep up those "moral victory" press statements, Bob. You were dumb enough to think that appeasing "the other 31" would get them to like and respect you. Well, now 0 out of 32 respect you.

One of the first things that happens when the courts decide to take up a case or not is to ask "Did you do all that you could to mediate/resolve/settle this dispute, by any means, before coming to the court system?"

The answer here from Kraft would be "No. There was indeed an established appeals process. We thought it would be unfair and a waste of time. We decided not to take it, though we've now changed our minds"

The court's answer would be "We are often called on to settle whether or not the procedures used to resolve disputes in organizations are inherently fair or not. We can't do that if you did not follow through on all of those procedures that were available to you"

We can all decide for ourselves if Kraft's boneheaded mistake is forgivable or not.

I fear that it is simply not fixable.

and... I am not a lawyer, yadda-yadda... maybe a legal mind can chime in on this.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

and... I am not a lawyer, yadda-yadda... maybe a legal mind can chime in on this.

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This is one of my favorite dynamics.
If you ask a lawyer an opinion on a legal matter almost 100% of them will give you a confident, unwavering response about how the law handles that and what verdict will occur.
Then when you hire one and ask them what they are going to do to win, they say that no one can ever predict what a judge will do.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

One of the first things that happens when the courts decide to take up a case or not is to ask "Did you do all that you could to mediate/resolve/settle this dispute, by any means, before coming to the court system?"

The answer here from Kraft would be "No. There was indeed an established appeals process. We thought it would be unfair and a waste of time. We decided not to take it, though we've now changed our minds"

The court's answer would be "We are often called on to settle whether or not the procedures used to resolve disputes in organizations are inherently fair or not. We can't do that if you did not follow through on all of those procedures that were available to you"

We can all decide for ourselves if Kraft's boneheaded mistake is forgivable or not.

I fear that it is simply not fixable.

and... I am not a lawyer, yadda-yadda... maybe a legal mind can chime in on this.

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Then it is just semantics; perhaps he should not sue first but rather appeal the decision. He should have the right to change his mind... does he? Then he can go to court and sue.

yes.....it's called the 'nuclear option' and it would be a doozy...........EVERYONE involved would be required to testify..........it could wind up with everyone being guilty of something.....pats, nfl front office, other owners.......they could say that kraft would lose alot of friend, but it appears he doesn't have any anyway

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

Then it is just semantics; perhaps he should not sue first but rather appeal the decision. He should have the right to change his mind... does he? Then he can go to court and sue.

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As I recall, there was a deadline to file an appeal through the league channels, and that has long since passed. Doesn't exclude him from going a legal route, but he can't now go back and appeal to the league itself.

there is absolutely nothing in the law book that says he can't change his mind and decide to sue the NFL to retrieve his huge fine and loss of draft picks.

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100% accurate. There's nothing that says he can't bring a civil suit against the NFL.

Whether he will get his case heard and whether it could conceivably accomplish anything are a different matter entirely which is where the 'SUE THEM SUE THEM SUE THEM' people lose me.

Every article I've read on the topic that does more of a deep dive into the team's options gives a dismaying list of possible grounds for a lawsuit and the likely outcomes. Why should any business pursue a fruitless lawsuit with a high probability of failure? Sating the bloodthirst of its fans isn't a viable reason.

fnordcircle said:

100% accurate. There's nothing that says he can't bring a civil suit against the NFL.

Whether he will get his case heard and whether it could conceivably accomplish anything are a different matter entirely which is where the 'SUE THEM SUE THEM SUE THEM' people lose me.

Every article I've read on the topic that does more of a deep dive into the team's options gives a dismaying list of possible grounds for a lawsuit and the likely outcomes. Why should any business pursue a fruitless lawsuit with a high probability of failure? Sating the bloodthirst of its fans isn't a viable reason.

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Businesses go to great lengths to protect their image, reputation and goodwill.

AndyJohnson said:

Businesses go to great lengths to protect their image, reputation and goodwill.

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Most of the time that involves undertakings with a reasonable chance of success. On what grounds could the Patriots sue the NFL to reclaim their lost picks that has a chance of success?

fnordcircle said:

Most of the time that involves undertakings with a reasonable chance of success. On what grounds could the Patriots sue the NFL to reclaim their lost picks that has a chance of success?

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I wouldn't pretend to guess at the likely success of a lawsuit.
I am sure that there are many potential options available. I am sure that laying down and doing nothing has not worked out so well.

To all you Bob Kraft haters ... give it up.
Can you be better than the NFL and admit you were wrong about the man or
will you let your 'pre judging without all the facts butt' rule your face?
If the man sues he sues if not there's a reason so leave it alone. Haven't you maligned the man enough?

There were claims that if Kraft sues the NFL, then the other owners can vote to remove him as owner. Is that inaccurate or are people just assuming they'd never get the required 24 owners?

JR4 said:

To all you Bob Kraft haters ... give it up.
Can you be better than the NFL and admit you were wrong about the man or
will you let your 'pre judging without all the facts butt' rule your face?
If the man sues he sues if not there's a reason so leave it alone. Haven't you maligned the man enough?

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Yeah I don't know what more the unsatisfied posters want. Kraft was angry, he insulted the league, said he shouldn't have trusted them, etc.

I'm pretty sure only a full-on tibetan monk self-immolation is the only thing that will appease some people who are too invested in misdirecting their rage over this whole thing at Kraft as a traitor.

Not that I've confirmed it, but Dale Arnold on WEEI just said that Kraft cannot appeal because he let the deadline lapse. I recall reading before that a suit was only possible if all other avenues were exhausted.

Again, I don't know this for certain, nor do I know whether Kraft would be able to sue over something else if that option is off the table. Regardless, I do not expect him to take legal action and I think that can be reconciled with believing his apology was sincere.

JR4 said:

To all you Bob Kraft haters ... give it up.
Can you be better than the NFL and admit you were wrong about the man or
will you let your 'pre judging without all the facts butt' rule your face?
If the man sues he sues if not there's a reason so leave it alone. Haven't you maligned the man enough?

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No. As a huge fan of the team who has bought in on so many levels and given so much time and money to this organization, his backing down and gullible, idiotic acceptance of an unfair punishment is unforgivable. I hope he resigns and gives the team to someone else because the fans should not forgive him for this offense. He has caused everyone to be ashamed and defensive for rooting for his football team.

It should be a lesson to never back down and "compromise" with people who lie to you. Although the scope of this is laughably small and this may be a bad analogy, this is similar to France "compromising" with Germany and saying "there will be peace in our time." The underhanded lies and agenda against the Pats and Brady were obvious from day one. It takes a real fool to believe that they would be placated and come around by giving them more concessions.

That said, I believe that everyone is capable of redemption and won't rule it out for Bob. Right now, though, a press release is a far cry from redemption.

JR4 said:

To all you Bob Kraft haters ... give it up.
Can you be better than the NFL and admit you were wrong about the man or
will you let your 'pre judging without all the facts butt' rule your face?
If the man sues he sues if not there's a reason so leave it alone. Haven't you maligned the man enough?

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Congratulations! That's one of the most ridiculous posts I've seen in the past two days, and there have been a whole lot of ridiculous posts in that time.

JR4 said:

To all you Bob Kraft haters ... give it up.
Can you be better than the NFL and admit you were wrong about the man or
will you let your 'pre judging without all the facts butt' rule your face?
If the man sues he sues if not there's a reason so leave it alone. Haven't you maligned the man enough?

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He is OWNER of Pats. After he capitulated i am fan of Brady, BB and other guys, who PUT THEIR lives for such a ****y, not his team.
After spygate and then Rice, Peterson, he capituled on the guys who takes head shots for him and with the risk being vegetable after 40!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry is not an option for me.
Again spygate, Rice and Godell investing on himself?????, Incognito, Peterson, deflategate.
How can i defend him???????

Can\could Kraft make the argument that he had a deal (not reduced to writing) with Goodell to reduce Brady's penalty in return for Kraft not appealing? A possible way out of the non-filing of the appeal?

One of the levers Kraft could pull that would leave ESPN with a weak NFL lineup.

What’s been rumored for the last six months is inching closer to fruition: CBS Sports is currently engaged in high-level talks about purchasing a large chunk of the NFL Network, multiple industry sources tell Inside Blitz.

CBS and the NFL Network partnered a year ago to televise Thursday Night Football, but insiders are now saying that deal was something of a “trial run” to see about a larger partnership, which appears to be on the horizon.

CBS declined comment.


Three sources say that CBS Sports could potentially acquire 40% or more of the NFL Network, and both sides see it as a win-win for all parties involved. It’s unclear if there’s a timetable yet for the deal to be completed. One source said before next season begins; another said if a deal is reached, the partners would wait to make a “splashy announcement” ahead of next year’s Super Bowl.
What’s been rumored for the last six months is inching closer to fruition: CBS Sports is currently engaged in high-level talks about purchasing a large chunk of the NFL Network, multiple industry sources tell Inside Blitz.

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http://thebiglead.com/2015/02/03/inside-blitz-cbs-inching-closer-to-buying-part-of-nfl-network/

Ice_Ice_Brady said:

If he is that shocked and feels taken advantage of, there is absolutely nothing in the law book that says he can't change his mind and decide to sue the NFL to retrieve his huge fine and loss of draft picks.

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Nothing in the law books, just in the NFL’s Constitution, which contains an unequivocal and unambiguous waiver of the NFL owners’ right to sue the league. If Kraft sued the league to get the draft picks back, the NFL would raise the waiver as a defense and Kraft’s lawsuit would be dismissed out of hand. The only thing Kraft would accomplish would be to waste his money and make himself look foolish.

The only way Kraft could get around the waiver language in the NFL’s Constitution would be to argue that the waiver is invalid because the NFL’s Constitution constitutes an unlawful restraint of trade in violation of the antitrust laws. In other words, Kraft would have to challenge the NFL’s antitrust exemption. However, if Kraft were successful in doing that, he still wouldn’t get his draft picks back because there would be no draft. There also would be no franchise tags, no rookie contracts and no restrictions on free agency of any sort. Every player could negotiate whatever contract he could get with any one of the 32 teams. The most successful teams would be wealthiest teams, not necessarily the smartest or best run ones, like the Patriots. Kraft would have succeeded in instantly changing the NFL into the English Premier League and cutting his net worth in half. I would not want the owner of the team I root for to be the kind of hothead moron he would have to be to do that.