Brady v. NFL Court Hearing Thread (8/31) - Live Update and Tweets

363839 said:

I wonder why Mara is there or why he is a person of interest at all, in this.

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Jury duty. Sequester him. Let Berman rule!

Plus, I imagine Berman is pissed that the NFL hasn't been negotiating in good faith, and wants to make sure the bosses understand completely what is going to happen. I am not a lawyer, but it certainly doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

moosekill said:

Plus, I imagine Berman is pissed that the NFL hasn't been negotiating in good faith, and wants to make sure the bosses understand completely what is going to happen. I am not a lawyer, but it certainly doesn't sound like a bad thing to me.

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Your lips to God's ear.

Is it 12:00 pm yet? I'd like to hear what Berman says and I certainly hope for no settlement unless it's all on Brady's side.

It'd be even more fun if Berman grilled Mara on the facts of the case and asked if other owners were in agreement (fantasy I know, but fun in that way if Powerball is at 200 million and you can dream the dream until the picks are announced).

Is the hearing at 11 or 12?

VectorPrime said:

Is the hearing at 11 or 12?

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11, I figure it might end around noon (and that's when we get news...when it's over).

patfanken said:

The mere thought of Brady accepting any settlement at this point fills me with dread. I cannot figure a single settlement scenario that would come close to not ending up being a TOTAL win for Goodell and his cronies. Not only that, any settlement would kill the likelihood of a defamation case, since Brady would in essence be admitting some level of culpability. I cannot understand why he's even thinking about a settlement when his case is so strong, and gets stronger every day. Why "settlement" is even being speculated on is beyond me.

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Agreed. But important to keep in mind that there can be hundreds of people talking about a settlement, but if Brady doesn't want one it doesn't have to happen. And I'm cautiously optimistic that he doesn't (apart from a "settlement" of no suspension, no acknowledgement of wrongdoing, minor fine for the phone).

The NFLPA is suing the NFL Management Counsel, of which I believe Mara is the Chairman, so that might be why the Judge summoned him to court. Let's just say when a Federal Judge asks you to do something, its not a request (its an order), and that anyone who ignores that request, does so at their own peril.

I can't see what a settlement would be, other than agreeing to delay all punishment until after this year, when the NFL* would have a full years worth of data.

If I'm Brady, I would rather take the 4 games and insist on my innocence, than take one and admit that you are guilty in this frame job.

patfanken said:

BTW- has anyone posed the question WHY the mere presence of John Mara increase the possibility of there being a settlement. WTF is John Mara going to say that will suddenly make a difference to Tom. "Gee, Tom, we'd really appreciate if you'd help us make this all go away", is NOT going to do it.

All I know about John Mara is that he is reportedly a very nice guy. But I don't recall him ever being mentioned as being one of the more influential owners or him being on any of the important committees. So again I ask, what is John Mara bring to the table that could possibly influence this procedure?

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Mara is on par with Kraft in terms of power. He is the Chairman of the League's Chief Executives Committee or the committee that directly works with Goodell. It was Kraft AND Mara who got Goodell his job. Mara is very influential.

That said, I think he doesn't want anything to do with this and will do his best to stay out of it. Berman thinks that since he is in charge of the committee that directly works with Goodell, he needs to be a cool head to negotiate a deal.

FreeTedWilliams said:

If I'm Brady, I would rather take the 4 games and insist on my innocence, than take one and admit that you are guilty in this frame job.

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And I can't believe Brady doesn't agree. You can't scream about your children's honor before the Super Bowl and then say, "yeah, I'll take a reduced suspension. Let's put this behind us."

FreeTedWilliams said:

I can't see what a settlement would be, other than agreeing to delay all punishment until after this year, when the NFL* would have a full years worth of data.

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That would be interesting. My fear is that all that PSI data collecting the NFL promised will be swept under the rug. They don't even have procedures in place with the start of the season in ten days.

VectorPrime said:

Is the hearing at 11 or 12?

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I think it's at 11 of 12.

aluminum seats said:

And I can't believe Brady doesn't agree. You can't scream about your children's honor before the Super Bowl and then say, "yeah, I'll take a reduced suspension. Let's put this behind us."

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Not to mention, the NFL can put this behind them any moment they choose. It's Brady who has fewer choices in this matter and he's been dealing with it the only way possible and with as much class as one can expect.

Ian Gunn ‏@IanPGunn 1m1 minute ago
Brady's case is actually titled "NFL Management Council v. NFLPA" even though we colloquially have called it Brady v. NFL

Ian Gunn ‏@IanPGunn 4m4 minutes ago
Here you go. Mara is Chair of NFL Management Council, which is the technical NFL party in Brady's case

Hoping for a settlement today. End this for good.

Rob0729 said:

Mara is on par with Kraft in terms of power. He is the Chairman of the League's Chief Executives Committee or the committee that directly works with Goodell. It was Kraft AND Mara who got Goodell his job. Mara is very influential.

That said, I think he doesn't want anything to do with this and will do his best to stay out of it. Berman thinks that since he is in charge of the committee that directly works with Goodell, he needs to be a cool head to negotiate a deal.

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Why is Berman so reluctant to rule that he drags in someone who has no interest in being there?

QuantumMechanic said:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Daniel Wallach retweeted
daniel kaplan ‏@dkaplanSBJ 4m4 minutes ago
Bumped into John Mara at courthouse. Could brady settlement be near?

10 retweets5 favorites

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Just makes me even more angry at what Kraft did in May...because of his cravenly cowardice in San Francisco, he can't be there today, sitting in the front row of the Court room next to Brady, to remind Mara that one of the most powerful owners in the league (or at least who used to be one of the most powerful owners in the league) has been behind Tommy since Day One. Instead, he skulked away to leave Brady twisting in the wind when the going got tough and the owner of the goddamn New York ****ing Giants is in the building instead.

Interesting...

NYDN Sports I-Team ‏@NYDNSportsITeam 28m28 minutes agoManhattan, NY
Tom Brady arrived at the courthouse about 15 minutes ago. He was accompanied by Michigan teammate Jay Feely, the former Jets kicker.

raduray said:

That would be interesting. My fear is that all that PSI data collecting the NFL promised will be swept under the rug. They don't even have procedures in place with the start of the season in ten days.

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They'll be doing PSI checks 'at random' so don't expect any data that doesn't support or 'not hurt' their deflategate quest.

crafty213 said:

Hoping for a settlement today. End this for good.

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Sorry, no. Total victory and unconditional surrender.