Below is an insightful post from a lawyer on a Bills message board of all places:
"Well, you can't look at Judge Berman's ruling as a single decision. There were many separate components to his ruling, including the following:
(1) Judge Berman concluded that no player would have fair notice that a failure to cooperate with an NFL investigation could lead to a suspension, because, in the past, players have only been fined for failing to cooperate with investigations.
(2) He also concluded that no player would have fair notice that he could be punished merely for being "generally aware" of rule violations committed by other people.
(3) He rejected Roger Goodell's finding of fact that Brady was more than "generally aware" of the rule violations. Goodell concluded in his opinion that Brady was more than merely "generally aware" that the balls were being deflated: Goodell found that Brady "approved of, consented to, and provided inducements" for the balls to be deflated. Judge Berman rejected this finding, and instead decided that "the record is clear that [Goodell's disciplinary award] relies upon the Wells Report's finding that Brady was 'generally aware' of the alleged ball tapering."
(4) He concluded that the Player Policies that deal with "equipment violations" apply to the act of intentionally deflating footballs. In other words, he held that intentionally deflating a football is an "equipment violation."
(5) He rejected the NFL's attempt to punish Brady for violating the "conduct detrimental" rule. Judge Berman held that this rule, which provides for a player to be punished for engaging in "conduct detrimental" to the game, could not be applied to Brady, because that rule is very generally worded, and the "equipment violations" rule--which, as I mentioned above, Judge Berman concluded was applicable to this case--was more specific. When two rules appear to apply to a certain course of conduct, the more specific rule should generally be applied instead of the more general rule.
(6) He held that the NFL improperly denied Brady the opportunity to examine Jeff Pash, the "co-lead investigator" in the Wells Report. Judge Berman reasoned that failing to allow Brady to question him during the arbitration hearing violated a federal statute, which provides that an arbitrator cannot "refuse to hear evidence pertinent and material to the controversy."
(7) He held that the NFL improperly prevented Brady from having access to documents and notes created during the Wells investigation, because arbitrators have a duty "to insure that relevant documentary evidence in the hands of one party is fully and timely made available to the other party."
Each one of these conclusions is problematic for the NFL. (1) and (2) call into the question the range of conduct the NFL is permitted to punish. (3) is troubling, because federal courts usually defer to findings of fact that arbitrators make. (4) involves a questionable interpretation of one of the NFL's rules. (5) is real disaster for the NFL, because it significantly narrows the scope of the NFL's authority to punish players for engaging in "conduct detrimental" to the league. Finally, (6) and (7) have implications for the procedures the NFL has to follow during future disciplinary proceedings.
So, if you're the NFL, the decision has far greater implications than merely giving Brady a get out of jail free card. It calls into question a wide range of NFL rules, the authority of NFL arbitrators, and the procedures the league has to follow in conducting disciplinary proceedings.
It's doubtful that the court of appeals will disagree with all of Judge Berman's conclusions, so I don't think it's very likely that Judge Berman will get completely reversed and the NFL will completely "win" on appeal. But, a "win" for the NFL doesn't require a complete reversal of every one of Judge Berman's conclusions. Even if the Second Circuit agrees that the arbitration was flawed, it might not agree with all seven of those flaws that Judge Berman found. It would be a meaningful victory for the NFL to have even just a few of Judge Berman's conclusions reversed.
So, if I'm the NFL, even if I don't think that the Second Circuit will uphold Brady's punishment, I still appeal in the hopes that the court will narrow Judge Berman's opinion so that it doesn't call into question quite so many aspects of the NFL's disciplinary scheme."
