OK gang, battle lines are drawn. What's the unified strategy for Brady and Pats?

[Canuck]

I think this has moved past NFL vs Brady to NFL vs NFLPA. Goodell is saying he has umlimited power to punish players and teams as he sees fit within the context of the CBA and NFL Rules. As it pertains to the deflation of footballs there was no limit imposed. He also has the right to hear the appeals or assign somebody else. It appears within the context of the NFL, Goodell has every right to do what he has done.

But every individual, organization which includes the NFL, knows that there are local, state, federal, constitutional laws that supercedes theirs. There are laws in how an organization must deal with unions and their members. It can be easily argued in Federal Court that Goodell, based on evidence, did punish a member of the NFLPA unjustly and unfairly. The burden of proof in a federal court is far greater than in the NFL itself. If there was hard evidence then the NFLPA could argue that the penalty was too harsh and ask for a lesser punishment but with a lack of provable evidence they can argue for the suspension to be completely overturned. That's just NFL vs NFLPA. I am sure that Brady just as an individual has enough cause to show in Fedeal Court that he was unjustly and unfairly treated.

In the NFL, Goodell is prosecuter, judge and executioner. Outside his little fiefdom, he is just another power hungry boss who thinks he can treat his employees like crap and get away with it.

 

[Dalton77]

Call Ted Wells as a witness and ask him three questions.
1) Were you instructed NOT to investigate allegations that the NFL was involved in a sting and that the Colts were involved in altering footballs ?
2) Did you discuss this case at all with anyone in the NFL office after being retained and how many contracts were there and what was the substance of those contacts??
3) Did you contact any scientific experts other than Exponent and did any of them give you an opinion that did not support the NFL's contention?

He then has several options.
1) He can and likely will assert attorney-client privilege unless it is waived by the NFL. If the NFL refuses to waive it, it certainly throws the independence of the investigation out the window.
2) If the NFL does waive it and he is allowed to testify, he can then ;
a) misremember, claim "I don't recall" or lie outright none of which look good..
b) testify honestly which could open a Pandora's box of problems IF the NFL told him to limit his scope of investigation or he ignored exculpatory evidence that showed the Patriots were innocence and Mother Nature was the guilty party...
Hopefully the attorney asking those questions knows the answers to them before he asks them (the old adage in law is," never ask a question that you don't know the answer to") and can go from there.....

I can dream can't I????

 

[Dalton77]

Wells and Goodell state the Wells Report was an Independent Investigation. He even told some past appellants to consider himself as an 'Independent Judge'. Brady's counsel should demand all electronic and other communications amongst and between Wells and any and all nfl league officials to see if this is the case. If they refuse to offer all iPhone, text, e-mail and other communications, then they must -- according to their sense of justice with Brady -- be guilty of lying. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Twain once said .. ' a lie can fly half way around the world before the truth has time to put its shows on ..'

I have far more faith in the integrity and judgment of Tom Brady than I do of either Goodell or Wells.

The shoes are now on ... time to begin the walk ...

 

[livinginthe past]

I think a lot of people are scared to admit the scale of this problem.

I think this move against the Patriots has been mandated by a large enough number of owners to make it difficult to win this case without going absolutely nuclear.

Goodell is a convenient Pinata (handsomely compensated by the owners) who will take a large percentage of the public floggings without the curtain being pulled back to reveal the real Wizard(s) of Oz.

The hard work (politiking) will be done by Kraft to gauge exactly where his support among the owners might lay - can he sell the 'it could happen to any of us' angle well enough to overcome the sentiment that the Patriots must be brought back to earth (parity)?

Perhaps enough of the owners that currently sit on the fence will perceive this ongoing saga to be damaging enough to the league that their own team's stock is being negatively affected.

This isn't a misunderstanding or an overzealous official over-stepping his remit - this is a conspiracy perpetrated by a cabal of owners who need to drag the Patriots down.

 

[wilmingtonpatsfan]

Here is a interesting take of the pats legal fight against nfl:
"
aballinhighgrass says: May 17, 2015 10:45 PM

Excellent analysis Florio. Not a fan of the teams involved but I am a lawyer and I’ve arrived at the same conclusions as you. Almost identical really. I’m impressed by how thoughtful you described this jello sandwich. The league butchered this. The Patriots figured out the Wells investigation was a bag job so they basically stopped cooperating. The Patriots figured they’d get some small fine for that and move on with life. Which explains Kraft’s initial response that the Patriots disagreed with the findings but would accept the punishment. But they were shocked at the actual punishment. I wasn’t. They misjudged Goodell. Now I believe you’ll see the Patriots raise the issue of breach of fiduciary obligation; to wit: the NFL leaked bogus info to ESPN and others to smear the Patriots. Goodell/NFL had a duty to correct the record and failed to do. This is evidence of bad faith towards a team. This super cedes the league’s constitution. A tough case to make but I believe Jonathan Kraft is Biblically angry at being accused of having his team, his brand so soiled. If the Patriots sue, this will be their primary cause of action.
"

 

[BTTA]

Here is a interesting take of the pats legal fight against nfl:
"
aballinhighgrass says: May 17, 2015 10:45 PM

Excellent analysis Florio. Not a fan of the teams involved but I am a lawyer and I’ve arrived at the same conclusions as you.... If the Patriots sue, this will be their primary cause of action.
"

I love it when the lawyers weigh in here.