Schefter: Giants owner John Mara declines to participate in settlement discussions with Brady, NFL

I'd bet $5000 that the nfl immediately contacted him and told him to change it from "Mara declines" to "We didn't want him"

all this fear of the judge grilling the NFL being him plaing devils advocate becauce he has to rule against Brady is looking a little bit more like maybe the Judge is telling the NFL a whole is going to be blown in their leagues discipline policy when he rules against them. Judge Bermans tone sounds a lot like Bob Krafts.

I think that if the Judge asks for another owners input, he knows where the pressure on Goodell is emanating from.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Chris MortensenVerified account‏@mortreport
The league did not want Mara to participate because they consider it a commissioner-only matter, aside from obvious competitive conflict

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League didnt want to particpate then who did he decline it to ? More BS

Tuck said:

I don't believe a word Mort says anymore.

Every report that comes out now I look at with a skeptical eye and ask myself the question what does the league want people to think here and what are their motivations for wanting the public to think that?

The reporters are simply errand boys for the league. they don't care about the facts they just want to be thrown the next scoop first so they don't ask any questions and go to press with whatever they're told. It's really not how the free press is supposed to work.

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To be honest, that's probably how all media should be consumed these days.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Chris MortensenVerified account‏@mortreport
The league did not want Mara to participate because they consider it a commissioner-only matter, aside from obvious competitive conflict

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Well that backtrack was fast.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Chris MortensenVerified account‏@mortreport
The league did not want Mara to participate because they consider it a commissioner-only matter, aside from obvious competitive conflict

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So just to make sure I have this totally clear:

1. Berman asks Mara to participate in settlement discussions
2. Mara declines Berman's request
3. He declines because the league considers it none of his business, and implictly considers Berman's request to be garbage

Is that right? Damn, they're just openly antagonizing Berman at this point, insisting that he doesn't have the authority to rule against them or even make suggestions re: settlement. Bold strategy, but the guy's a human being. Even if the league was right (they're not), it still wouldn't be smart.

I've actually been thinking for the past several weeks is that what this whole thing needs is an owner or small group of owners to talk everyone off the ledges and try to gain some consensus. Basically someone to do the job that Bob Kraft did during the CBA negotiations a couple years back.

It seems to me that that is what Berman had in mind, but the league threw it right back in his face.

BradyFTW! said:

So just to make sure I have this totally clear:

1. Berman asks Mara to participate in settlement discussions
2. Mara declines Berman's request
3. He declines because the league considers it none of his business, and implictly considers Berman's request to be garbage

Is that right? Damn, they're just openly antagonizing Berman at this point, insisting that he doesn't have the authority to rule against them or even make suggestions re: settlement. Bold strategy, but the guy's a human being. Even if the league was right (they're not), it still wouldn't be smart.

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Mara citing conflict of interest is classic irony consdering Goodell played 'impartial' arbitrator after handing out punishment

BradyFTW! said:

they're just openly antagonizing Berman at this point, insisting that he doesn't have the authority to rule against them. Bold strategy,

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Really is. Especially after Berman told them point blank yesterday that by them not allowing Pash to be questioned there is precedent for this to be vacated.

Not sure they are antagonizing Berman if mara is declining.

Man I really don't like Goodell.
I hope Berman rips those clowns up I want everyone responsible in this debacle to be called out and held accountable.
I'm looking at you Kensil,Grigson,Irsay,Harbaugh,Biscotti Vincent.
All people Berman should be ripping a new one.
Last but not least Mort!
Also I want Kraft to go hard and getting his picks back.
It was a sham and a robbery which tilts the competitive balance of power out of our favor.
Thats why I badly want Roberts Grissom Flowers Mason, Jackson Richards,Brown to all make impacts the league would cry.

Someone call felger tomorrow and tell him SCHEFTER CAN BE WRONG.

The media is being used left and right in this and it's best to just ignore them.

BradyFTW! said:

By Mara's standard--the Patriots play one of his division rivals in the first four weeks--exactly half the owners in the league would have a conflict of interest by stepping in.

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It will be interesting to see what happens when/if Kraft tries to get the picks back.

That directly benefits 31 teams.

Of course anything on that front won't be public information.

JDot said:

Mort said on ESPN that it was Judge Berman who asked. And Mara declined b/c the cowboys play the Pats week 4, and it would be a competitive advantage b/c the Cowboys play in the same division.

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It's interesting that it was Berman who asked.

Isn't that evidence of which way Berman is leaning?

JDot said:

Well that backtrack was fast.

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Did he say anything about 11 of 12 balls?

If only Mort were a kitty kat....

Chiuba E. Obele said:

Chris MortensenVerified account‏@mortreport
The league did not want Mara to participate because they consider it a commissioner-only matter, aside from obvious competitive conflict

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wtf is "the league"? I work full time in a professional sports league, so I can say with some authority that Mort is making about as meaningless a statement as you can get. A sports league is a loose confederation of many organizations and the employees and owners and executives therein. A sports league is not a person. A sports league cannot have an opinion. A sports league cannot "consider" anything. Saying that "the league" didn't want Mara to participate is a garbage statement that obfuscates the actual actors, most likely by design.

Mort, if it is not your intent to deliberately prevent your readers from understanding the nature of this story, just come out and tell us whose opinion it is. Did the commissioner decide that it was a commissioner-only matter? Or did other owners? Executives in the league office? The NFL's legal counsel? Without knowing that, we don't know anything.

http://espn.go.com/newyork/nfl/stor...john-mara-join-tom-brady-nfl-settlement-talks

Now mort says league rejected mara's involvement

...Mara wouldn't likely be the only owner involved. Something is fishy with this.

Judge Berman asking Mara to get involved would be...why? Most probably he thinks Goodell does not have authority to settle this and needs involvement of owners. It certainly couldn't be of any help in convincing Brady to settle

Even as Felger said today, if Brady really offered to take a one game suspension and Goodell turned it down, he's a schmuck.

XLIX said:

I've actually been thinking for the past several weeks is that what this whole thing needs is an owner or small group of owners to talk everyone off the ledges and try to gain some consensus. Basically someone to do the job that Bob Kraft did during the CBA negotiations a couple years back.

It seems to me that that is what Berman had in mind, but the league threw it right back in his face.

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Jeez, I don't know.

I'd be leery of the bias that would be shown towards Brady and the Patriots. Perhaps @Joker is starting to get inside my head, but I'm not seeing a bunch of owners who are going to want to side with Brady.

I think they are mainly backing Goodell, despite what Jeff Howe and his "4-5 owners being closed doors with no one else to hear their thoughts" says. As we know with different studies that have been performed, people tend to act much differently when they know they are anonymous. The bottom line is that the high majority of owners are still siding with Goodell, and would likely continue to do so, particularly when their name is assigned to things.