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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.This is laughably pathetic. An arbitrator is supposed to listen to both sides and decide who has the better argument, not strengthen the side he favors. This further solidifies Goodell as irreparably biased and can't possibly be legal... even more so when you consider the evidence he used to firm up his position is a documented lie.
Seriously, this is like bizarro world or something.
I just realized that I, Joe Kerr the Indestructible , have somehow DIED!
Yes,I am here at the bottom of the ocean stuck in this thread with a bunch of litigators.
It seems I've become the punchline to one of my most overused ,hackneyed jokes...HALPPPPPPPPPP!
It's not a defeatist attitude, it's we're getting tired of getting punched in the balls every few weeks. We went from "I want an apology when we are cleared" to "it's time to end the rhetoric we accept all fines and punishment". "I'm thinking there may be a small fine, they aren't finding anything" (Mike Reiss said that in April) to "Patriots and Brady are the biggest cheaters ever!!!!"
Every time something good happens in the press, something much worse follows it up. This transcripts getting released was good for everyone if us tired of seeing Brady's name get dragged through the mud. But I just think it's too little too late. A nutshot is on its way, and I think its this NY judge saying "Sorry Tom, this ain't Judge Doty's house... want a better CBA? Have some conviction next time this comes up and don't bargain it away for no more two-a-days." And honestly, he'd be right to say that...the NFLPA allowed this scumbag to keep this ridiculous power and now we are dealing with it.
There is a smugness to the NFL's comments that suggest they are confident as to how this will turn out. I hope that I am wrong in that interpretation.
If Berman has in any way signaled that he feels the (absurdly drawn) CBA gives Goodell an "out," no matter how unfair that might be, then this is how I would be acting if I were Goodell. We have to remember that Judge Berman is not being asked to take a view on whether what Goodell has done is "fair," but rather on whether it is permitted by the terms of the CBA. What he's being asked to determine is actually pretty narrowly defined.
The good news is that he's suggested that the sides should "settle," which implies that he thinks there is something to settle. The bad news is that he can bring the hammer down on one side or the other.
My personal view is that Kessler has mounted a strong argument that Goodell has stepped outside the bounds of the CBA, but the fact that the League doesn't feel it needs to offer to settle at this point is worrisome...or it is a bluff.
Goodell has either read Berman correctly or he has decided to go down with the ship.
If I were Goodell, I would be afraid, very afraid. Robert Kraft is coming after me and he's really good at getting what he wants.Maybe the NFL is smug because they don't care if they lose. They already have the Patriots picks. They have unlimited funds -- they can keep doing this and doing this. If they lose every once in a while, so what? There's always another case.
Silly me, I falsely believed that Judge Berman told both sides to stop all the rhetoric... but the NFL plays by its own set of rules..
Lets hope so now because historically there isn't much pointing to Goody being afraid of Bob.If I were Goodell, I would be afraid, very afraid. Robert Kraft is coming after me and he's really good at getting what he wants.
"...he concluded that [Brady] was involved..."
Involved in what? NOTHING HAPPENED! There is no actus reus.
Lets hope so now because historically there isn't much pointing to Goody being afraid of Bob.
Any Patriot fan should be happy with these claims. The league would be quiet if they believe they were on solid ground, the fact that they are ignoring Berman's order and shapeshifting their arguments make clear they are scared sh.tless and trying to get out on front of something they no longer have control over. Brady's side is quiet as can be and the league is in panic mode. Sweet.
IIRC findings of fact cannot be challenged in this action. Would not the occurrence of wrongdoing be a finding of fact and thus outside the scope of judicial review in this case?I wouldn't abandon arguments of that sort, but I personally feel they are better suited to situations where wrongdoing actually took place.
In my 3L opinion, an implied term in the CBA requiring wrongdoing actually take place before a player can be punished seems like the most basic 1L contract law approach, but the simplicity of it doesn't mean it is not an effective argument to make. Wells is a high powered lawyer working at a high powered law office, and he and his team f'd up. I realize Kessler has been effective for the NFLPA thus far, and that he is miles more accomplished than I am, but I worry that in employing his sophisticated, experienced approach he might be missing that basic argument staring him him right in the face. Like Wells, every other lawyer, and most human beings (besides Brady and BB) he's not above making mistakes.
I just hope we don't have to start making threads complaining about a failed strategy employed by Kessler, and how it could have been. From my viewpoint the most effective argument in the court of public opinion has been that no deflation actually took place, and that the NFL disregarded the science of it all (however, not documenting starting PSI would fall under this too). Judges are susceptible to human arguments as well (like that Brady has been the subject of a witch hunt; not that this necessarily fails as a legal argument), no matter how hard they try to pretend they aren't.
Edit: Also, I'm still confident Kessler will take this to the house, just want to see all the bases covered in the 15 pages. Which probably isn't easy either.
Ivan,
I seem to remember many positively glowing, optimistic appraisals from you on this journey of ours.
Sooner or later you'll be right?............I hope so.
It's been discussed here that arbitration cases are very rarely reversed in the court.
That is to be expected. They are not supposed to be.
But, how often does it come up in other industries where the arbitrator is a key player involved in the issue. I would think almost never. So, I'm going to wait and see.
If Berman were to rule for Brady, would the NFL appeal? Or just wait until the next case?
A whole lot of cowards hereDid you miss the phonies in here during SB week saying if Brady did this they don't want us to win the game. Almost lost my **** reading that crap.