Brady's agent's response

[Ross12]

I think it's very wise to demand a neutral arbitrator right from the start. We know Goodell won't budge, but it will be yet another bullet in the clip when they go to court. "We knew it was a biased load of bull, we requested a neutral arbitrator, and he STILL heard the appeal! Clear evidence of doing everything in their power to smear my client. If it was truly a fair report then there should have been no problem having a third party arbitrate."

 

[The Gr8est]

It's good to see Donald Yee leading the charge.

In my opinion the ONLY chance the Pats have at a positive resolution to this mess is if Brady sues and we can get incriminating evidence into the entities and their machinations aligned against the Pats to take them down.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

FWIW, I live in California, and I'm surrounded by non-Pats fans. They hate Goodell, but they hate Brady and the Pats even more. It's sad and pathetic, but it's true.

The closest thing to a sympathetic response I'm seeing is "wow, Goodell is ****ing this up so badly that I might actually have to take Tom Brady's side, of all people". And even that's the minority.

And again, it's all just jealousy. As much as they hate Brady, they hate Pierce and LeBron just as much. Anyone who wins while their ****ty team continues to suck will draw their hatred. Doubly so if it's a New England team. The rest of the country generally hates us, we don't care, and they continue to hate us because we don't care. I find it kinda cute, and I'm openly patronizing about it, because **** em. It's pretty much a closed loop by now.

Just moved from Cali myself .
We have different kind of hates going on. Brady and BB are hated because they always win (and BB comes off as unlikeable). As you know many hated the Niners in the 80s simply because they won so much. As soon as they stop winning the Niners or Patriots are just another team.
Goodell is disliked because he is innately dis-likable. He's the textbook example of the person the 'every-man- dislikes (he might as well be Mr Potter cancelling Christmas). Fair or unfair, he has the classic traits to be disliked: he is head of the massive Omni Corp, he makes gobs of millions a day for never breaking a sweat, the absolute classic wealthy smug silver spoon look, not to mention he has or will F over everyone's team eventually.
There just is no way Brady is on the same level as Goodell. But, unfortunately, Goodell has the massive hammer of his position. As I mentioned in other posts, people don't realize how powerful the NFL is. Broadcast, cable, Internet, radio, the wide eddy of the advertising world and clients, so many are under the specter of the NFL. You get cut out of the NFL and you pretty much can kiss a major share of your viewership, listeners, clicks, marketing demo goodbye. Not many execs and managers out there are going to cross the NFL and risk the repercussions. Just is what it is....

 

[Fencer]

I hope you're right but it does not apply.
IMHO I believe Brady will win appeal with the exception of if the league can punish someone based on not turning over their personal communications. However, I was asking about the team. AKAIK the Patriots team has no recourse (though I plead ignorance as to the actual polcies with the teams).

While I agree that there's no formal process for the Patriots to appeal, something could still happen on an ad-hoc basis.

E.g., what if Brady is exonerated and Kraft soon thereafter tells his fellow owners that he unfortunately will need to file suit against the league? At that point there would be a good chance that Goodell's bosses tell him he should change the Pats' penalty.

 

[Fencer]

Not necessarily. I believe that certain circumstances can get a caseput on a fast track. One of those circumstances might be the fact that if a decision isn't rendered by the start of the season, Brady will have been denied the right of being exonerated. I'm certainly not an attorney, but I believe there are instances where that type of situation is taken into consideration.

I agree, and have said as much in other posts. However, if the choice is between:

1. A court outcome fairly likely to be favorable to Brady.
2. No need for a court outcome, because the league immediately capitulated.

the second option is clearly better.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

While I agree that there's no formal process for the Patriots to appeal, something could still happen on an ad-hoc basis.

E.g., what if Brady is exonerated and Kraft soon thereafter tells his fellow owners that he unfortunately will need to file suit against the league? At that point there would be a good chance that Goodell's bosses tell him he should change the Pats' penalty.

Maybe but I think we will need the ghost of Al Davis to inhabit the body of Bob Kraft for it to happen. What I mean to say is I don't think it is at all likely. The day of 'Al Davis' is gone IMHO. The league probably has since further tightened their lodge rules in order to keep everyone in line on that level/to make sure "lawsuit" is never part of the inner business of the NFL. Anyone who does the Al Davis will have to be comfortable being an outsider and a pariah for the remainder of his NFL membership.

Unfortunately, IMHO, the picks are gone and there isn't really anything Kraft can do (or maybe even would do). The only chance at all, as unlikely it is, is a major victory in the court of the public and/or some third party gets a legal proceeding to go far enough to begin discovery of Goodell's communications. Since a third party lawsuit is the better chance and that is almost no chance at all, the picks as a practical matter are gone. Sad but true...

 

[ViperGTS]

AJ I hear ya but you are taking a lack of words as X when it may mean Y. I mean Brady himself has said nothing.
Look this is the first salvo. Brady and the Patriots are discussing this with their counsels and media experts. At least give Brady a chance to speak, then see what Kraft does/says, then we can see where Kraft is at. Also remember about Kraft, he is under a far more limiting contractual obligation than Brady. He needs to be sure about his next statements else how about maybe we lose picks in round #3 and #5?

Again let's let it play out before drawing lines. Besides this ain't a time to be mad at Patriot people. Maybe that time will come but it ain't now. The anger belongs with the Emperor and his court jesters.

Agreed. Usually a brash response is less fulfilling in the end. I want it, and boy it would feel good but I highly doubt they take this one lying down. I bet Giselle is getting her lawyers on the horn as well. She's pretty powerful I think. They might have messed with the wrong people. I think there's a great chance to fundamentally change how the league is run, all depending on how they pursue it.

 

[Deus Irae]

Agreed. Usually a brash response is less fulfilling in the end.

You've lived a much different life than have I.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Where can i get a Yee jersey?

 

[ViperGTS]

You've lived a much different life than have I.

Well in these circles where legalese rules the day it's a bit different wouldn't you say?

 

[Deus Irae]

Well in these circles where legalese rules the day it's a bit different wouldn't you say?

No

 

[ViperGTS]

No

No? How so?

 

[Calhoun44]

Would love to see some of the internal communications regarding Spygate, Deflategate and the Jets tampering too.

Is there any chance this is a way for the NFL to have to share internal documents regarding Cameraplacement Gate? Maybe they could search for a pattern of unfair judgements against the Pats and this could exonerate them and clear their name.

This is my conspiracy theory...Goodell and Kraft organized this whole thing to set up Kensil (who is making a power play for Roger's job) to try to catch the Pats cheating. The league punishes Brady unjustly, Brady sues the NFL and gets access to the league info (thanks to Goodell help making documents available) and blows open the bias against the Patriots by Goodell's #2 guy for not only this b.s but for all the injustices. Kensil is removed and Kraft defends Roger, Brady, BB, the Pats are all looked at as the victim and celebrated for years to come as the championship organization that they are by NFL fans everywhere.

Whoa...Had a bit of a LSD flashback there....nevermind.

 

[Deus Irae]

No? How so?

Look all around you. The brash, as you put it, win almost all the time.

 

[obgod3]

The longer this goes without Brady speaking for himself the more he looks guilty. He might get his suspension reduced or eliminated via arbitration but he will not win back his reputation by arbitration.

No matter what his reputation isnt coming back...

 

[SVN]

I hope whoever is giving counsel to brady is not the one who gave him the same during the SB week. He handled it poorly without any show of emotion or anger and gave lawyer speak. I hope to hear from him with some anger and blood in his eyes.

 

[ViperGTS]

Look all around you. The brash, as you put it, win almost all the time.

Maybe. If you don't have the public on your side you need to tread lightly as main players. At least the day of. They have some serious weight to move. If you were going to go scorched earth than why not. I imagine the lawyers that Kraft and Brady have are better than anything the league has. Yee is a good sounding board right now. He can say what he wants without damaging the process.

 

[Deus Irae]

Maybe. If you don't have the public on your side you need to tread lightly as main players. At least the day of. They have some serious weight to move. If you were going to go scorched earth than why not. I imagine the lawyers that Kraft and Brady have are better than anything the league has. Yee is a good sounding board right now. He can say what he wants without damaging the process.

You're confusing brash with stupid. Stupid's always bad, even when it works. As for the public, there's nothing more meaningless than the public right now.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Look all around you. The brash, as you put it, win almost all the time.

The loudest often can win, however, that fight is over. And, IMHO, Goodell, the report, a duplicitous media and a simpleminded public were a monolith that could not be defeated by Brady/Patriot brashness executed at the get go. That defense was DOA due to varying reasons (spygate, confirmation bias, envy, yellow journalism, corporate might).

This is a fight that could have tacit victories, maybe even procedural victories. That's not, though, going to be won by loud statements of innocence to the media said hastily and not prepared with extreme care. These statements need to vetted by experts and their style/format well executed. The pillars of the accusers need to be cut with truth, justice and the American way -- -- I mean with difficult to impugn and difficult to assail information. In the absence of this we might as well just swallow the suspension and draft pick loses, and say "we're on to Pittsburgh".

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Yee says he has verbatim notes of the meeting. I wonder if he has audio/video of it, too?