Come the F on... Kraft to Larry King: I hope I helped Tom Brady's appeal.

[supafly]

Exactly. The Wells report showed that Brady did nothing wrong, so why the heck should he accept any penalty at all? For the good of who, Kraft?

My only concern is that this battle is being fought for him by the NFLPA. I don't have much faith in them. They're the ones that bungled the agreement that gave Goody and the Jets the power to pull off this stunt.

As much of a **** as Florio is, he correctly points out the night/day difference that ANY appeal would have, based on whether or not new evidence is taken into account.

There seems to be a lot of confusion there, so any thoughts of a sure thing should be thrown out the window. I share your same concerns about getting a fair shake, although the power you are speaking of has been granted to the commissioner since 1968, so it's not exactly a new thing, despite the opinion of Darrelle Revis.

 

[Nikolai]

My wife says I'm stubborn...now I have an excuse.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

We can speculate all day long about what did/didn't happen, but no one can predict what happens in court.

There will be a lot of variables, from the interpretation of the arbitrator(s), the former precedent(s) set forth, any inclusion of new evidence (or not--which makes a big difference), who the arbitrator even is, and how much power if any, the initial ruling still has.

If you're preparing for an "all or nothing" scenario in this case, which seems to have been the popular (yet very incorrect) choice from January on, I'd suggest preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. In my opinion, we're going to have to deal with the reality that this may not go as hoped, and the fact that a middle ground is a possibility.

What do you define as a middle ground?

I think Brady has a bigger problem with the implications of the suspension than the suspension itself.

 

[supafly]

What do you define as a middle ground?

I think Brady has a bigger problem with the implications of the suspension than the suspension itself.

There are two aspects that I think will be key: 1) whether or not "new" evidence is introduced from either side, and 2) any evidence that already exists that we aren't currently aware of. For example, it's been suggested that one or both of JJ and JM will be forced to testify during the appeals process. What will they say? Will the questions be any different, and how so?

Until these questions can be answered one-hundred percent in our favor, I would assume that a middle ground will always exist. I realize that there isn't much to suggest Brady's guilt in the report, but boy--does the league seem to feel strongly that Brady was involved! Perhaps they acted too quickly and are giving him a chance to set things straight? Or, perhaps it was a witch hunt from the beginning?

 

[Tunescribe]

Hey everyone, I'm still alive.

Just wanted to mention that in case you're worried that I'm so quiet in this thread.

So ... Why are you being stubborn?

 

[goheels22002]

Whatever happens, Bob Kraft should keep his mouth shut this week as the fireworks start with Goodell formally rejecting the NFLPA petition that he recuse himself, and the subsequent NFLPA filing of an unfair labor practice with the NLRB.

The NFLPA goes on the attack this week to use the Brady case as a way to put an end to the arbitrary way that the Commissioner hands out punishment for real and imagined offenses by players, and teams.

The NHL has an appeals procedure for teams that gives time and perspective to reviewing sanctions, and ratchets down the rhetoric for the announcement of decisions by arbitrators. The NFL has no appeal procedure for teams and looks like the Commissioner is trying to see how many clowns he can pack into the car.

Look for the long-term result to lead to an NHL or MLB style appeals process where the Commissioner has diminished power, there is a formal appeals process, and the arbitrator is not permitted to speak publicly on his/her decision, thereby shutting down the circus:

http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=bjesl