Anyone else wish Brady would just say screw it

and file a defamation lawsuit against the NFL? Even though everyone that is a lawyer and isn't a lawyer says he has 0% chance of winning?

I'm not a lawyer and know absolutely nothing about law but it sounds like there would be "discovery" and Goodell and everyone would have to give up their phones and then we could all see what really happened behind the scenes in the NFL offices. I think it might be worth it just to get that dirt out in the open even though it is a lost cause.

I'm just sick and tired of the beating we all (as in Pats, Brady, and us fans) are getting due to what most likely was weather related. From what I've read about the upcoming case, Judge Berman is only going to look at the process and nothing about the actual 'crime'.

There's just gotta be something that can be done to show how this was a witch hunt against the Pats and Brady all along. I suppose it just wishful thinking on my part.

I believe it's not that simple to get access to someone else's private stuff.

aww I was so looking forward to tearing up your ass when I thought "and accept the punishment" was coming after i clicked on the thread.. Very disappointed.

I hope he does, but only after the current court battle is resolved.

If there is no settlement, Florio says the judge can ask both parties questions. I can't see how that hurts Brady -- he's already been interrogated for hours. Goodell might have to answer about the leak, how this started (both pertain to his bias).

Other point....I believe the judge will tell one or both of the parties when it is their interest to settle, meaning Brady should expect to get at least a partial reduction.

GrogansArmy said:

and file a defamation lawsuit against the NFL? Even though everyone that is a lawyer and isn't a lawyer says he has 0% chance of winning?

I'm not a lawyer and know absolutely nothing about law but it sounds like there would be "discovery" and Goodell and everyone would have to give up their phones and then we could all see what really happened behind the scenes in the NFL offices. I think it might be worth it just to get that dirt out in the open even though it is a lost cause.

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Only if the case isn't dismissed out of hand.

I've actually researched the most recent NFL player to file a defamation lawsuit against the NFL (actually it was filed against Goodell), our old friend Jonathan Vilma.

He lost. The case was dismissed. The reason why the case was dismissed, however, is very interesting. If I understand it correctly, he sued Roger Goodell individually (not the league) and the case was dismissed because the judge ruled that Goodell's statements were made in an official capacity. The judge wrote:

"The Court finds that all of the allegedly offensive statements were made by Goodell as Commissioner of the NFL in conjunction with the investigation resulting in the now well-known discipline against Vilma and others associated with the Saints.''

There was also some question regarding whether or not Goodell's statements about Vilma were actually accurate.

For Brady, we know 2 things: (1) The "11/12 balls" statement is totally inaccurate, and (2) That statement was not made in any official capacity whatsoever.

Maybe Brady could go after Kensil?

Fencer said:

Only if the case isn't dismissed out of hand.

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That's disappointing, how often are defamation cases dismissed?

I think all our reactions as fans to this are somewhat like the gameday thread.We want the simplistic option of cutting a player or running the ball or not running the ball etc etc. As has been evidenced , its more complicated than that. Iam sure 100 times more in court related stuff.

GrogansArmy said:

That's disappointing, how often are defamation cases dismissed?

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I don't know.

The point is that unless there's a certain amount of evidence that could prove that somebody defamed Brady under even the tough public-figure defamation standards, the case will never go through the legal process. Awkwardly, there's little clear evidence of that. Mort obscures his sources' defamatory behavior, and Pash refusing to cure somebody else's defamation isn't exactly the same thing is Pash defaming Brady himself.

And for more precise analysis I'll now leave it to the actual lawyers.

I think Brady may file a defamation lawsuit after this lawsuit is settled. I doubt he will prior to it being settled one way or another.

I am no lawyer, but I think Brady has a real case and can overcome the high barrier for a celebrity. Based on Mort's report and Mort saying he double checked with his sources after the Patriots denied any wrong doing and said his sources said the 2 PSI is 100% accurate, I think Brady can easily convince a judge or a jury that the source of the story was the NFL. The emails that the Patriots put out on Friday can show malicious intent because the League leaked the story and then refused to correct even after repeated requests by the Patriots and their council.

So even without the phone records which I think Brady and his lawyers could easily get a judge to subpoena, I think Brady could show defamation and even overcome the hurdle of malicious intent.

I actually think McNally and Jastremski are probably planning defamation suits themselves and probably why neither have come forward (no matter how much the haters want to make it sound that the Patriots hid them).

Fencer said:

I don't know.

The point is that unless there's a certain amount of evidence that could prove that somebody defamed Brady under even the tough public-figure defamation standards, the case will never go through the legal process. Awkwardly, there's little clear evidence of that. Mort obscures his sources' defamatory behavior, and Pash refusing to cure somebody else's defamation isn't exactly the same thing is Pash defaming Brady himself.

And for more precise analysis I'll now leave it to the actual lawyers.

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I don't know. There seems to be clear evidence that Mort's sources are within the League offices and the fact that Mort reconfirmed the PSI report in January with his sources and they said the Pats were lying and the PSI level was 2 PSI under for all 11 of 12 balls is correct because by then everyone knew the only people who knew the actual PSI were within the league office. So they could be the only ones who were the source.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/02/in-january-mort-told-weei-he-reconfirmed-psi-info/

And the courts will look at the NFL as one entity. If Kensil was the source and Pash didn't know, it doesn't matter. It was still the NFL who spread the false report and it was the NFL who didn't rectify the situation. The NFL doesn't get a free pass because Kensil was a rouge agent.

I was actually hoping Brady would file a defamation suit even before his appeal. By the time of the appeal his name and legacy had been dragged through the mud so much, to the point that even if he was totally exonerated 44 states see him as guilty of a crime he didn't commit.

Wouldn't that be something if Brady was able to sue Kensil for making the statement and also go after Goodell for being "at least generally aware" that the false statement was being made?

GrogansArmy said:

I was actually hoping Brady would file a defamation suit even before his appeal. By the time of the appeal his name and legacy had been dragged through the mud so much, to the point that even if he was totally exonerated 44 states see him as guilty of a crime he didn't commit.

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McCann said the time in not yet right to file a defamation lawsuit. I know it is just one guy's opinion, but he has been pretty smart about a lot of this (certainly much smarter than that ESPN legal moron).

If Tom Brady sues for defamation, he must show "actual malice" (i.e. NFL knowingly lied). He'd argue emails show it.

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https://twitter.com/McCannSportsLaw/status/627558193279819776

XLIX said:

McCann said the time in not yet right to file a defamation lawsuit. I know it is just one guy's opinion, but he has been pretty smart about a lot of this (certainly much smarter than that ESPN legal moron).

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I assume it's Munson you're talking about. One problem with Munson -- he doesn't understand the science. As I said in another thread, if the real PSIs had been released, simple IDL science would have explained everything and the whole thing would have blown over. Wells/Exponent came up with a convoluted/complicated report to try to show the balls were deflated and Munson (and much of the public) accepts it.

I guess that's not all with Munson -- there is a lot of innuendo (Brady signing things for MacNally MUST be payment for deflating of footballs, for example). It's not well written, as Munson says, so maybe I'm giving him too much credit.

MagicMarker said:

I assume it's Munson you're talking about. One problem with Munson -- he doesn't understand the science. As I said in another thread, if the real PSIs had been released, simple IDL science would have explained everything and the whole thing would have blown over. Wells/Exponent came up with a convoluted/complicated report to try to show the balls were deflated and Munson (and much of the public) accepts it.

I guess that's not all with Munson -- there is a lot of innuendo (Brady signing things for MacNally MUST be payment for deflating of footballs, for example). It's not well written, as Munson says, so maybe I'm giving him too much credit.

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I haven't followed much of what Munson has said on this topic, but based on the overwhelming consensus of this forum (and the people in here who clearly know what they are talking about), Munson really is a clueless idiot.

MagicMarker said:

I assume it's Munson you're talking about. One problem with Munson -- he doesn't understand the science. As I said in another thread, if the real PSIs had been released, simple IDL science would have explained everything and the whole thing would have blown over. Wells/Exponent came up with a convoluted/complicated report to try to show the balls were deflated and Munson (and much of the public) accepts it.

I guess that's not all with Munson -- there is a lot of innuendo (Brady signing things for MacNally MUST be payment for deflating of footballs, for example). It's not well written, as Munson says, so maybe I'm giving him too much credit.

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It can't be Munson. Munson probably thinks that Goodell and the NFL should sue Brady for defamation because his refusal to bend over and take the initial four game suspension defamed the NFL because the Wells Report was a solid document with hard and indisputable facts.

XLIX said:

I haven't followed much of what Munson has said on this topic, but based on the overwhelming consensus of this forum (and the people in here who clearly know what they are talking about), Munson really is a clueless idiot.

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I try to give Munson some credit, but his analysis seems very cursory.

Rob0729 said:

There seems to be clear evidence that Mort's sources are within the League offices

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How clear?

I'm being picky because it seems like an incredibly central point.