Sally Jenkins Nails It Again

BingoBrown said:

Why is Berman still trying to help the NFL by having them settle?He chewed out the NFL for not letting Pash be cross examined(this alone
is reason to vacate)his words.Is he trying to avoid all the paperwork
that he has coming his way?

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Settlements don't get appealed. His decision, no matter which way it goes, will. He's trying to avoid wasting the 2nd circuit court of appeals' time with this load of crap.

Steph Stradley had this to say the other day when I messaged her on her blog:

StephStradley said:

I don't know what Judge Berman's stylistic preferences are but if I went to law school, got awesome grades, worked worked worked, went through the process to get named as a federal court judge, decided many actually important cases, and then was asked to make a decision in a case that should have been settled that is this profoundly dumb, I would torch the NFL in flames that would make hades look like a refrigerator. This case is dumber than small claims court--at least with those courts, there are real problems involving real people. Deflategate is dumber than fiction.

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DaBruinz said:

Steph - Do you have the lottery numbers??? With the way Berman ripped into Daniel Nash and the NFL's argument, it would seem you knew exactly what was going to happen.. Hopefully, Judge Berman keeps it up and the NFL continues to be intrasigent in regards to settling..

Also, what is your take on the potential of the NFL owners stepping up and calling for a vote of No Confidence in Goodell if they lose? Do you see the Owners preventing Goodell from attempting to appeal a verdict in Brady's favor, particularly if the NFL is found to have violated the CBA?

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StephStradley said:

I've been real world lawyering for a while. Both for companies and individuals. So, when a judge keeps telling you to settle, and one side has a ridiculous settlement stance that cannot be accepted, you likely know what is going to happen.

We aren't talking about the NFL holding on to money. Or fighting for the American way of life. They want to stop one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history from doing quarterback stuff because they paid a bunch of money for a weakass investigation and feel too foolish to backoff. There is no legitimate reason to maintain the settlement posture that they need to get a certain number of game suspension or exact a confession from a guy who already testified under oath he didn't do squat.

I do not know the terms of Roger Goodell's contract. Owners have stuff going on, and they rarely agree on anything. So I don't think anything will happen to him because it never does no matter what he says or does.

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BradyFTW! said:

Paragraph before it is pretty excellent too:

The NFL’s entire legal argument in the court of Judge Richard M. Berman over the last few weeks is that this commissioner’s powers are so unlimited that even a federal judge must bow to him. NFL attorney Dan Nash said on Goodell’s behalf during a hearing this week, “The findings of the commissioner are entitled to deference.” Now, that’s rich. It was Goodell and the NFL that brought this idiotic case into Berman’s courtroom in the first place. And now it’s telling him he has no right to rule in it.​

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BingoBrown said:

Why is Berman still trying to help the NFL by having them settle?He chewed out the NFL for not letting Pash be cross examined(this alone
is reason to vacate)his words.Is he trying to avoid all the paperwork
that he has coming his way?

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My answer to your question is "I don't know," but here are a few possible explanations:

1) First of all, he's not worried about paperwork. That's what clerk's are for. He just signs it.

2) He's said several times that both sides' cases have "strengths and weaknesses," so he still might believe that the proper outcome is a Settlement. He is known as a "Settlement Judge" and he could well just be acting in a manner that is consistent with his basic instincts.

3) He might be going hard on the NFL to push them to a settlement because he's concerned that he will have to rule in favor of the NFL on a narrow point of law and, in so doing, would be allowing an injustice to be perpetrated on Brady. What is "just" and what is "legal" aren't always the same thing. He might be trying to avoid that outcome and also not to hand the NFL a total victory under those circumstances.

4) He might be so disgusted by the NFL's actions that he wants to keep hammering them but knows the only way he can continue hammering them is if he does it under the pretense of trying to get them to settle.

5) As another poster has suggested, he might be concerned that this case not waste the time of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where it could linger for a long time.

6) Since a ruling to Vacate would be both unanticipated and highly visible, he might just be laying an extensive foundation for that Ruling and want to be able to say that he gave the NFL every opportunity to settle. He'll want the trial record to be very strong because no Judge wants one of his rulings to be overturned on Appeal.

I think that either #2 or #6 is the most likely explanation, but I wouldn't rule any of them out.

Canuck said:

I nominate Stephanie Stradley as our next commissioner and Sally Jenkins as the neutral arbitrator.

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aluminum seats said:

I honestly think I'm in love with this woman.

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Is it wrong for me to fantasize in my heart about a threesome...

Ah, never mind. This is a sports site, not Ashley Madison.

The comments are definitely anti NFL. A Giants fan was even defending the Pats. A few morons chime in about Brady being guilty and are quickly slapped down by the majority. I assume some of them are Pats fans, but not all.

I love these columns and agree completely, but the kicker is that the NFLPA agreed to the CBA... that is the kicker, so Berman can critique the product and the process.. but he still may have to abide by Article 46.

A possible outcome might be that Berman can critique the NFL to the nth degree, but article 46 might trump all of this..

PlainOldEd said:

The comments are definitely anti NFL. A Giants fan was even defending the Pats. A few morons chime in about Brady being guilty and are quickly slapped down by the majority. I assume some of them are Pats fans, but not all.

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Probably a healthy majority are Pats fans. Just imagine what types of people are actively sharing this story, and what types are ignoring it.

BradyFTW! said:

Settlements don't get appealed. His decision, no matter which way it goes, will. He's trying to avoid wasting the 2nd circuit court of appeals' time with this load of crap.

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I disagree. I really don't think that the Owners will allow Goodell to appeal. Especially if Berman roasts Goodell and Co. in his decision..

DaBruinz said:

I disagree. I really don't think that the Owners will allow Goodell to appeal. Especially if Berman roasts Goodell and Co. in his decision..

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I would agree, if the issue of precedent wasn't looming over all of this. If the NFL loses this case, it will likely create a defined limit on the commissioner's authority to dole out punishments to players. Given how adamant the league has been in CBA negotiations about this exact thing, I don't see them just surrendering on it. I think they'll push forward trying to get the judgment they want using every tool at their disposal, since losing is roughly equivalent to a significant CBA concession.

BradyFTW! said:

I would agree, if the issue of precedent wasn't looming over all of this. If the NFL loses this case, it will likely create a defined limit on the commissioner's authority to dole out punishments to players. Given how adamant the league has been in CBA negotiations about this exact thing, I don't see them just surrendering on it. I think they'll push forward trying to get the judgment they want using every tool at their disposal, since losing is roughly equivalent to a significant CBA concession.

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Precedent? What Precedent? The Precedent that a commissioner and his staff have to actually follow the rules of the CBA? Which we know from transcripts that Goodell and Co. did not.

You are ignoring the fact that this is the 4th Major case of player discipline in which Goodell has been in a fight with the NFLPA over. Goodell lost the last 3 times. He lost in Bountygate when Tagliabue over-ruled him and vacated the suspensions. Goodell was shown to be an imbecile with the Ray Rice situation. And Goodell lost with the Adrian Peterson situation to the point he's up on contempt of court charges in front of the very judge who over-ruled him.

The problem is that Goodell has already put the NFL behind the 8-ball and it's likely that the NFLPA rquests a change to Article 46 that would prevent the Commissioner from being the "neutral arbiter" if he was the one that issued the penalty. I don't foresee the league losing the power of the Commissioner to hand out penalties to players. Just that it is more restricted and the penalties more defined..

Not her best work, when she starts ramble my about how OSHA and the DEA will wrap us in their loving arms and keep the bad men away she loses me. It's a contract dispute, one where the NFL is clearly the violator, nothing more.

The applicable labor laws don't really tell us anything except common sense contract interpretations that would apply even if unwritten. Those laws also say to give the arbiter deference so they are a double edged sword. At the end of the day if the Federal government didn't have the authority for final interpretation of the contract it wouldn't mean doom for Brady, it would mean there's no issue. Patriots could ignore their contract just as easily as Goodell.

DefenseRules said:

I am at the point where I expect Brady to lose this case. On the bright side, the NFL's BS was exposed. But I just don't think the judge will overturn the suspension. I just don't have any faith that there will be justice for us. These bastards hold all the cards and they are going to get away with this.

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Well, just keep sticking your hand in the sand then. We'll let you know what it's time to come up.

DarrylS said:

I love these columns and agree completely, but the kicker is that the NFLPA agreed to the CBA... that is the kicker, so Berman can critique the product and the process.. but he still may have to abide by Article 46.

A possible outcome might be that Berman can critique the NFL to the nth degree, but article 46 might trump all of this..

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Trust me, the NFLPA will never agree to those terms again. NFL football may be over once the current CBA expires.

DarrylS said:

I love these columns and agree completely, but the kicker is that the NFLPA agreed to the CBA... that is the kicker, so Berman can critique the product and the process.. but he still may have to abide by Article 46.

A possible outcome might be that Berman can critique the NFL to the nth degree, but article 46 might trump all of this..

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I read article 46 and didn't see anything in there that would allow Goody the Jet to ignore the rest of the rules of the CBA. I know that that sentiment keeps popping up here, but I just don't see it.

I see this as a slam dunk winner for Brady, just as he has had on the field. No matter how it goes I'll be a Tom Brady fan until he retires and then I'll dump the NFL if we still have to put up with the nonsense from the HCIC (head clown in charge).

When I was nailing my wife last night I was thinking of Sally Jenkins.

Was that wrong?

reflexblue said:

I was about to post this myself, its an insight i don't think anyone has brought up until now.

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Someone did.

Oswlek said:

I know, it's absurd. The NFL is literally saying that judge Berman has no right to question the conclusions that they specifically asked him to validate. It is dumbfounding.

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1960Pats said:

I read article 46 and didn't see anything in there that would allow Goody the Jet to ignore the rest of the rules of the CBA. I know that that sentiment keeps popping up here, but I just don't see it.

I see this as a slam dunk winner for Brady, just as he has had on the field. No matter how it goes I'll be a Tom Brady fan until he retires and then I'll dump the NFL if we still have to put up with the nonsense from the HCIC (head clown in charge).

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You never know.. several "legal experts" have validated that the belief that Article 46 could be the trump card for the NFL.. even though I disagree and hope it will not effect the outcome.

Article 46 was a concept that might be fraught with good intentions, however the way it is being used has reaped unintended consequences.. things are often not what they appear to be.

BradyFTW! said:

Probably a healthy majority are Pats fans. Just imagine what types of people are actively sharing this story, and what types are ignoring it.

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I had the most frustrating argument with a friend last night. He's a reasonably smart guy, but on this issue he's a moron. He says I'm an idiot if I think nothing happened, because everyone knows something did. I asked if he had actually read any of the science, he said "who did the experiments? Massholes.com?" I explained that many reputable people from around the country have refuted the wells report and his response is always "Pats fans".
So in short I think you're right, most non Pats fans have made up their minds and are now in ignore phase..

Zeus said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...4f8a26-4747-11e5-846d-02792f854297_story.html

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Wow, that raised the libido a peg or two!