Patriots make major update to Wells Report In Context site

OhExaulted1 said:

He can't. Why doesn't anyone understand this?

How will Brady, Patriots fight against Deflategate punishments?

"Unlike Brady, the Patriots have no collectively bargained right to an appeal. Their only source for appeal is to reach out to Goodell and hope he or a designate of his choosing revises the punishment. The Patriots are members of a franchise of leagues and are contractually bound to follow the NFL’s constitution and other legal instruments. The NFL’s constitution makes clear teams can’t take their grievances to court and that any attempt to do so would likely be futile. Like the other 31 NFL ownership groups, Kraft has agreed to abide by the Constitution and assented to not sue the league or other owners."

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I basically stopped making that point, because it just falls on deaf ears. Unless Kraft can find a loophole, where his rights were broken according to the leagues responsibility to individual owners. But I highly doubt it. The other owner have the same rights, so you would think it a case of "31 against one". The problem with that thinking is no individual owner ever has a snowballs chance in hell of being victorious. It seems Kraft knows this and is posturing for the media to help out a little. The issue I don't get is, why weren't these facts, on the website, not brought up at the last appeal by the NFLPA lawyers

PatsWickedPissah said:

All righty then!
GAME OVAH NFL!!!!

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Wicked hahd pissah!

Time has passed. I still get very very angry about this. Maybe it's not good for me. I can't help having frustration and anger.

OhExaulted1 said:

He can't. Why doesn't anyone understand this?

How will Brady, Patriots fight against Deflategate punishments?

"Unlike Brady, the Patriots have no collectively bargained right to an appeal. Their only source for appeal is to reach out to Goodell and hope he or a designate of his choosing revises the punishment. The Patriots are members of a franchise of leagues and are contractually bound to follow the NFL’s constitution and other legal instruments. The NFL’s constitution makes clear teams can’t take their grievances to court and that any attempt to do so would likely be futile. Like the other 31 NFL ownership groups, Kraft has agreed to abide by the Constitution and assented to not sue the league or other owners."

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From the very same article by Michael McCann, he lists Kraft's other options including legal. While none of them are guaranteed (or even likely) to work but they are options nonetheless, and all of the options listed were damaged by his nonsensical acceptance of the penalty.


As discussed above, the Patriots can only request that Goodell reconsiders. Assuming the Patriots decline to adopt that approach or it fails, Kraft might consider other recourses:

1. Accept the punishment but try to force Goodell out.

The last time the commissioner of a major sports league received a vote of no confidence was in 1992, when baseball owners, in an 18 to 9 vote, expressed to Fay Vincent that they wanted a new commissioner. Vincent then stepped down.

2. Use political influence to spawn a Congressional investigation into the NFL’s Deflategate investigation.

Kraft has made political connections and is considered quite influential on Capitol Hill. It stands to reason that Kraft could encourage members of Congress with whom he is close to launch an investigation into the NFL’s handling of Deflategate. A Congressional investigation into Deflategate isn’t as far-fetched as it might sound. Last September, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Jay Rockefeller, among others, suggested that Congress should investigate the NFL’s handling of the Ray Rice matter and the broader issue of domestic violence committed by players. Congress has held hearings related to the NFL. They have been on the concussion crisis in football, performance-enhancing drugs, and antitrust and tax exemptions for the NFL and other leagues.
During Congressional testimony, Goodell and other NFL officials would be compelled to speak under oath about the Deflategate investigation—and risk potential perjury charges if they knowingly lie.

3. The nuclear option: Sue Goodell and the NFL.

If Kraft determines that he has exhausted any internal appeals, he could attempt to take the matter to court. If a lawsuit advanced past a motion to dismiss, Kraft could force Goodell, Vincent and others to testify under oath. The same, though, would be true for Kraft, Brady and Bill Belichick, among other Patriots employees.

There are different types of claims Kraft could bring. Among them:

i. Federal arbitration claim—Kraft could ask a federal court to review Goodell’s decision-making on Deflategate. The key for Kraft would be to argue that Goodell, as the ultimate arbitrator on league matters, has acted arbitrarily and capriciously. This would be a difficult standard for Kraft to show, but it is the customary standard used by courts in reviewing the decisions of private business associations like the NFL. Kraft would stress that Goodell failed to provide him and the Patriots a fair opportunity to make a case. Kraft would also contend that the NFL has grossly misinterpreted its own rules in imposing such a hefty and unprecedented penalty. Kraft would essentially claim that the penalty makes no sense and is thus arbitrary.

ii. Federal antitrust claim—Kraft could file an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, claiming that the league and its teams—including the Colts, which may have played a decisive role in sharing implicating evidence—have conspired in an anticompetitive way to harm the Patriots and the team’s franchise value. With some success, the late Al Davis used antitrust law to take on the NFL in the 1980s during a legal dispute over where the Raiders play. More recently and without success, former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling attempted to use antitrust law to take on the NBA and Adam Silver. One advantage to an antitrust law would be the possibility of treble damages.

iii. Defamation claim—Kraft could sue Goodell and Vincent, and contend that statements made by the NFL about the Patriots involvement in Deflategate are untrue and damaging to his reputation. As a public figure, Kraft would have the added burden of showing Goodell and Vincent lied with “actual malice,” which means they lied intentionally or knowingly.

iv. Petition for a restraining order.
Kraft could also petition a judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking the NFL from carrying out the penalty. He would have to show irreparable harm, meaning harm that monetary damages couldn’t cure. This would be very difficult to show.

Also, not only did Kraft initially say he would accept the Deflategate punishment, but Kraft’s record and personality suggest it is extremely unlikely he would sue the NFL—an association in which he’s been an influential member for the last 21 years. Kraft suing the NFL would mean he’d be suing the 31 other ownership groups, some of whom include his close friends.

Do not expect Kraft to file a legal action, but it is an option.

Gator Mike said:

Yeah, they're talking about the Jets game in October where the officials overinflated the footballs. JJ texted his fiance afterwards talking about how the refs screwed up and that the footballs should have been at 13 psi.

The Patriots are noting that he did not blame McNally for the overinflation.

When you think about it, this really takes a lot of the steam out of the "Deflator" texts. If McNally was calling himself "The Deflator"early in 2014, then that means the "scheme" was already in place. And if it was already in place, then why isn't Jastremski livid with McNally for not doing his job prior to that Jets game?

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you mean the Deflator "text" one, uno, the haters believe his nickname was the deflator and he was called that all the time, it was one lousy freaking text, that's all Well's could dig up in his months of investigation.

I know nothing about the judicial system, and I presume this is not allowed, but could Berman give his thoughts to the appeals judges? Guessing he can't, but man that would be so helpful.

GrogansArmy said:

I know nothing about the judicial system, and I presume this is not allowed, but could Berman give his thoughts to the appeals judges? Guessing he can't, but man that would be so helpful.

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He gave his thoughts to the appeals judges when he wrote his ruling.

Gator Mike said:

Yeah, they're talking about the Jets game in October where the officials overinflated the footballs. JJ texted his fiance afterwards talking about how the refs screwed up and that the footballs should have been at 13 psi.

The Patriots are noting that he did not blame McNally for the overinflation.

When you think about it, this really takes a lot of the steam out of the "Deflator" text. If McNally was calling himself "The Deflator"early in 2014, then that means the "scheme" was already in place. And if it was already in place, then why isn't Jastremski livid with McNally for not doing his job prior to that Jets game?

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just a note

McNally would have not been at that game, as it was at the Meadowlands

In the words of Shakespeare, the Wells Report site is "Sound and fury signifying nothing". In the more than year since the bogus violation broke, Kraft has not attempted to do anything tangible against the POS and his henchmen. He has issued a statement criticizing the league attorney who is still there and spent a few bucks on that site which is just a publicity campaign to try to appease the few people that read it. His whole effort in the past year is less than what Hunt did in one week regarding his far less team's punishment.
What amazes me about Kraft who is otherwise a shrewd judge of character and an exemplary owner is his incredible blind spot concerning Goodell. To vociferously support him in the Rice incident when his incompetence was totally exposed and to fail to criticize him when his biased treatment of the Pats and its most important player is beyond belief.

anditsgood said:

just a note

McNally would have not been at that game, as it was at the Meadowlands

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No it was the Thursday game at Gillette.

Ivan said:

We disagree, imo going public with information debunking deflategate is something that seriously pisses off the league office and is definitely fighting back.

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You mean "You" disagree. You can only speak for yourself

Ivan, formerly known as "Ivan The Terrible" is entitled to use the Royal We.

Lmao