Final Poll: Yay or Nay

Tony2046 said:

Funny how you posted five minutes after the thread Was create.

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Well, I'm glad someone was timing it!!

This is an opinion board and I posted mine.

PatriotsReign said:

And if you're driving, don't look at it at all....even at red lights!!

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Fair enough....

PatriotsReign said:

Well, I'm glad SOMEONE was timing it!!

This is an OPINION board and I posted mine.

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Was just kidding.

Uphold because I'm chicken little right now. Evidence is irrelevant .

I really do think it is 50/50.

I guess uphold with a opinion that points out all the problems with the NFL's case that can be mentioned upon appeal and allows for an injunction by Brady while he appeals to the 2nd circuit.

Either way this will not end today sadly.

Berman would look like a complete idiot if he upheld after the things he has said in this.

There really is no doubt for me that this gets vacated in a court of law. If he were to uphold this my shock would be so great I'd probably lose it.

Upheld. Aren't we used to NE getting the sh*t end of the stick? Anyway it could be a good thing. Appeal could get Brady through the entire season before this gets decided.

Isn't that what we all really want? The cloud will be hanging around regardless. Did the talking heads ever stop mentioning Spygate the entire 2007 season? It was brought up in EVERY game and never subsided.

I'm looking forward to entire season of Brady and the team on another FU NFL tour, with the ending turning out right this time.

My opinion: everyone here is now saying 'well nothing else has gone our way, people have felt like things would work out far better with the Wells report, then the penalty, then Kraft's response, then the appeal, why would this be any different?' The difference is that we're no longer in Goodell's court, we're in Berman's court. Goodell blows with the wind of public opinion, from the start this was about the bogus leak to Mort, the fallout from that and 31 fanbases and owners sticking it to the Pats. It was never about what was right or just.

Now it's in a real court. And in real court, Goodell and the NFL have lost over and over, even when arbiter decisions generally don't get overturned he's been embarrassed in court time and again. Berman's words and actions the past few weeks have me very confident that he'll vacate the penalty, I'm just hoping he writes a scathing decision that embarrasses the league.

Vacate.

My reasoning is a bit different than some others.

As part of his ruling, I think that he judge might simply point out that the Federal Arbitration Act demands that arbitrators be fair and neutral. Whatever terms the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to in their CBA, it does not supercede Federal Law. To assign arbitration duties to one person, regardless of his/her biases, is an invalid provision in the CBA.

I think that he will also point out clear violations of the CBA (lack of notice, inconsistency of punishment, lack of access to incriminating evidence)

Haley said:

Berman would look like a complete idiot if he upheld after the things he has said in this.

There really is no doubt for me that this gets vacated in a court of law. If he were to uphold this my shock would be so great I'd probably lose it.

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I agree. He MAY be the first person in authority that has a brain and sees this for what it really is, a farce with no proof of guilt, and that Brady is being railroaded

I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect that we're all going to be outraged in a few hours or days.

We live in a world where wisdom has become as rare as magic. Evil wins when good people do nothing. When good people do nothing, nothing good gets done.

#FreeBrady

PYPER said:

I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect that we're all going to be outraged in a few hours or days.

We live in a world where wisdom has become as rare as magic. Evil wins when good people do nothing. When good people do nothing, nothing good gets done.

#FreeBrady

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Don't worry. President Trump will pardon Brady regardless of outcome.

BobDigital said:

I really do think it is 50/50.

I guess uphold with a opinion that points out all the problems with the NFL's case that can be mentioned upon appeal and allows for an injunction by Brady while he appeals to the 2nd circuit.

Either way this will not end today sadly.

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Interesting conspiracy theory.
Knowing there will be an appeal and knowing that Brady is unjustly being punished, Berman takes the pipe and rules for the NFL but does it in a way that means the appellate court has to overrule him.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

Vacate.

My reasoning is a bit different than some others.

As part of his ruling, I think that he judge might simply point out that the Federal Arbitration Act demands that arbitrators be fair and neutral. Whatever terms the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to in their CBA, it does not supercede Federal Law. To assign arbitration duties to one person, regardless of his/her biases, is an invalid provision in the CBA.

I think that he will also point out clear violations of the CBA (lack of notice, inconsistency of punishment, lack of access to incriminating evidence)

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Great post. I think you have a winner there, but I'm not sure there is precedent to do this. Has any case ever attempted to overturn arbitration by this means?

http://www.bmpllp.com/publications/...cating-modifying-correcting-arbitration-award

Grounds for Vacating an Arbitration Award Under the Federal Arbitration Act

Section 10(a) of the FAA provides four grounds for vacating an arbitration award. These grounds are as follows:

1) Where the award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means;
2) Where there was evident partiality or corruption in the arbitrators, or either of them;
3) Where the arbitrators are guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing, upon sufficient cause shown, or refusing to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy; or of any other behavior by which the rights of any party have been prejudiced; and
4) Where the arbitrators exceed their powers, or so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final, and definitive award upon the subject matter submitted was not made.

The Fifth Circuit has also recognized several judicially created exceptions to the enforcement of an arbitration award. Vacating an award is proper when: (1) the award is contrary to public policy; (2) the award is arbitrary and capricious; (3) the award fails to draw its essence from the underlying contract; or (4) the award displays manifest disregard of the law.

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In the first section, #2, #3, #4 seem clear. #1 is probably true, but isn't easily proved
In the first section, #2 is clear

The "acting against the FAA" angle is one which seems pretty airtight, but IANAL, and I don't know precedents in this area.

The paragraph on the Fifth Circuit is irrelevant to this case, though. What matters are the Second Circuit standards (and SCOTUS's, of course).