Brady's legal team rope-a-dopes NFL into big mistake

[Dr Pain]

I think Brady and his lawyers were pretty sure this was going to be tried in court. The details about the cell phone or data being destroyed would probably have come out during the discovery process.

The NFL is wedded to their reports already in hand. This is about an unfair labor practice not about Brady suing for damages for slander etc... where there would be 2 way discovery. This potential move and the response by the NFL handed the Brady team the ammunition it needs to prove an unfair labor practice. Yes the cost is a a PR hit but the gain is a legal advantage in the unfair labor practices area. The NFL would have helped their legal case if they just upheld 4 games and shut up.

 

[Tunescribe]

I'm a lawyer

Why admit this publicly?

 

[JMC00]

I think Brady panicked when he thought Wells would have access to all his personal stuff on his cell phone and destroyed the data. He either did it on his own without knowing the law and/or he got bad advice probably from his agent. Wells knew he couldn't force Brady to hand over his cell phone. Wells had to get Brady to hand over the information on his own free will.

Brady knew for a month that wells couldn't legally take his phone.

 

[ViperGTS]

Brady knew for a month that wells couldn't legally take his phone.

Kessler was advising him on Mar 5&6 correct?

 

[obgod3]

By making it all about the phone, it brings Gostkowski not being punished into play.

Get Goodell on the stand in court, question one: "Mr Goodell, you have levied this punishment against Mr Brady for failing to hand over his phone, team mate Stephen Gostkowski also declined to hand over his phone yet wasn't punished...can you explain the reasoning?"

Not only is it a labor issue, it falls straight into malicious use of process and lands Goodell squarely as the guilty party in both cases.

I have to admit this is the best strategy I have seen so far. Of course if brady is such a fighter I'm not sure he would willingly take the public beating. But it is a very interesting concept.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I donno - I haven't read everything but my theory is that Brady and his legal team wanted to say FU to Goodell when he moved the goalposts and demanded the cellphone - not just what Wells previsouly reported about just having him give them the "relevant" texts

As been repeated often around here - Goodell/Wells had never asked Brady for his cell phone

I think this was a strategic move by Goodell to then request it - Brady and his lawyers, rather than saying FU - said it's not available/destroyed - whatever - you can't have it

I'm not sure that was the wisest way to go for them but indeed maybe they are goading Goodell

In any case Goodell stalled and stalled until HIS suit was ready to be filed - so that smacks of a continued set up alone, as well as Goodell quite literally "moving the goal posts" in requesting the cellphone in the appeal but not in the investigation

Let's bear in mind that from Brady's standpoint the FRIGGEN FOOTBALLS WEREN'T EVEN DEFLATED

Seems to me that the NFLPA might want to establish a precedent that the Commissioner might have an obligation to, you know, show that a rule was violated before commandeering every player's right to privacy

If this was a rope a dope we'll find out - I do question Kessler's advice to go this route and I actually WOULD be somewhat weary if I were Goodell - hence his move to proactively file in the NY court to have them uphold his ruling

This is a chess match that has more to do with the rights of players and the responsibility of the Commissioner to show wrongdoing before trampling on player rights

 

[JMC00]

Kessler was advising him on Mar 5&6 correct?

I'm sure the NFLPA was advising Brady long before then. Which i'm sure they put a few calls into Kessler

 

[Deus Irae]

As been repeated often around here - Goodell/Wells had never asked Brady for his cell phone

???

They did ask for the phone.

 

[ViperGTS]

I'm sure the NFLPA was advising Brady long before then. Which i'm sure they put a few calls into Kessler

Okay I just checked. Wasn't until May. So hope the NFLPA was watching his every move. Not so comfortable knowing for sure Kessler was on the retainer by then.

 

[Tuck]

The thing I don't get about this story is why would Brady inform the league that he destroyed the phone? If he didn't want to hand it over he would just say no, he wouldn't say no I'm not handing it over and by the way I destroyed it anyway so you will never get it. On top of that presumably, he was within his rights afforded to him in the CBA to not hand it over so saying no and leaving it at that is all he had to do. It just doesn't make any sense why he would have told the league the phone had been destroyed.

 

[JMC00]

As been repeated often around here - Goodell/Wells had never asked Brady for his cell phone

Uh yes they did.

 

[Dr Pain]

It just doesn't make any sense why he would have told the league the phone had been destroyed.

Exactly and Brady's team is not going to do anything without a reason. Just think why would they do this? This is a chess game and the NFL hurt their federal case today by focusing on something they are not entitled to. Brady's response, here are the people I texted, go talk to them. The NFL already has McNally and Jastremski's phones so pound sand.

 

[JoeSixPat]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...red-to-help-nfl-gather-missing-text-messages/

The other shoe is falling now as people are looking beyond the NFL spin

 

[Tony2046]

On a side note, Brady needs to see someone about his texting addiction. 10000 in 5 months? JK

 

[Dr Pain]

On a side note, Brady needs to see someone about his texting addiction. 10000 in 5 months?

He has a son who is 3,000 miles away. My guess is that is 50%.

 

[ViperGTS]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...red-to-help-nfl-gather-missing-text-messages/

The other shoe is falling now as people are looking beyond the NFL spin

And the media has pounced on the original story as soon as it came out. Unreal.

 

[primetime]

Goodell loses his mind. Bases punishment on unfair labor practice. Rope-a-doped into it.

Baiting your boss into ULPs is basically Workplace Organizing 101, especially in today's era where the boss has the overwhelming majority of the power (to say nothing of the exceptional case of the NFL itself). I didn't think of this, and it whiffs of "dance, puppet, dance" but it's also far from an absurd theory, because it's exactly what a labor lawyer would recommend and Brady's team includes some of the best labor lawyers in the business.

 

[ViperGTS]

He has a son who is 3,000 miles away. My guess is that is 50%.

How much you wanna bet he has playbook stuff on it as well.

 

[ViperGTS]

Baiting your boss into ULPs is basically Workplace Organizing 101 in an era where the boss has the overwhelming majority of the power. I didn't think of this, and it whiffs of "dance, puppet, dance" but it's also far from an absurd theory, because it's exactly what a labor lawyer would recommend and Brady's team includes some of the best labor lawyers in the business.

You are betting on a narcissistic organizations bossss to trip up. Usually not hard to do either.

 

[Tony2046]

He has a son who is 3,000 miles away. My guess is that is 50%.

I was just kidding.