Source: Judge Berman has already overturned an arbitration case similar to this one

[RobertWeathers]

Not that I am aware of. In Bountygate, Rice, and Peterson cases, the Judge overturned the arbitrator's ruling, sent it back to the NFL to get a neutral arbitrator. The Bountygate and Rice punishments were overturned when a court ordered neutral arbitrator ruled. The NFL is in contempt of court on the Peyerson case.

It is conceivable that Judge Berman does the same thing in this case.

Which would make zero sense because in order for the neutral arbitrator would be forced to use the doctored & manipulated Wells Report. It's tampered evidence and heavy with bias- which the NFL basically admitted.

If they do that, they need to redo the entire investigation.

IMO that ain't happening.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

Not to put a damper on anything, but Josina Anderson is a complete hack. Belongs on E Television or something like that. Not a reliable reporter, wouldn't even call her a reporter.

She was a sports reporter at Denver's Fox affiliate, channel 31, before her current gig.

Not that I don't agree with you, just an FYI...

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Judge Dodi in Minn. basically said Goodell* is joke and doesn't like his way of dealing with league players. If this was in Minn, this would have been a Slam Dunk for Brady. Hopefully Berman looks into Dodi's statement and prior dealings with Rodger and rules in favor of Brady.

 

[Hoodie]

Shes that stuck-up ESPN reporter who *****ed out the parking garage person...totally pulled a, "You know who I am?".

A loathsome human being....

I remember. It was a joke which is why I said, "I don't know who she is."

 

[Rob0729]

Which would make zero sense because in order for the neutral arbitrator would be forced to use the doctored & manipulated Wells Report. It's tampered evidence and heavy with bias- which the NFL basically admitted.

If they do that, they need to redo the entire investigation.

IMO that ain't happening.

If Judge Berman chose this option, he would certainly require the NFL to turn over all of Ted Wells' work product like interview transcripts, league emails, full transcripts of all the text messages and not just the cherry picked texts, all the revisions of the Wells' reports, etc. and will force Jeff Pash to testify if the NFLPA called him. If Judge Berman decides to really screw with the League, he could require them to submit all this stuff to the Court where it would become public record.

So this option is far scarier for the NFL than Brady. It could be a doomsday scenario for them if they are forced to release it to the court under penalty of perjury that they didn't hold anything back. It wouldn't be the edited Wells Report that the new arbitrator, it would be a peek behind the curtain of the Wells Investigation.

 

[Rob0729]

BTW, if the Brady source is right and they have a good shot of winning on all four counts, it will make it tougher for the NFL to win on appeal. An appeals court could overturn three of the four counts that Berman ruled on and still not overturn Judge Berman's decision.

Brady only needs to win on one count to have his suspension overturned, but the NFL would have to get Judge Berman overruled on every count he rules for Brady in any appeal of Judge Berman's ruling if he finds for Brady.

 

[BradyFTW!]

If Judge Berman chose this option, he would certainly require the NFL to turn over all of Ted Wells' work product like interview transcripts, league emails, full transcripts of all the text messages and not just the cherry picked texts, all the revisions of the Wells' reports, etc. and will force Jeff Pash to testify if the NFLPA called him. If Judge Berman decides to really screw with the League, he could require them to submit all this stuff to the Court where it would become public record.

So this option is far scarier for the NFL than Brady. It could be a doomsday scenario for them if they are forced to release it to the court under penalty of perjury that they didn't hold anything back. It wouldn't be the edited Wells Report that the new arbitrator, it would be a peek behind the curtain of the Wells Investigation.

I don't think the NFL would let this case get to a neutral arbitrator, for all of the reasons you just laid out. If Berman vacates and sends to a neutral arbitrator, they'll still appeal that decision to try to get God-Emperor Goodell's authority under Article 46 upheld, but I bet they'd rather rescind the suspension than actually let a neutral arbitrator form its own conclusions on the record re: the Wells Report.

As long as Brady's winning in court based on a notice or fundamental fairness argument, they can still claim (falsely) that he just got off on a technicality. But if the investigation itself is exposed to a neutral arbitrator, they won't have any such convenient claim left. The report will be shredded as the hatchet job that it is, and heads would probably have to roll over that.

Think of it this way: the investigative notes re: Ray Rice were really damning to the NFL, yet Goodell was still willing to step aside and let someone else arbitrate the case. For him to refuse to do the same with Brady suggests that the skeletons in the Wells Investigation closet are so bad that they make the Rice investigation look competent and fair by comparison.

 

[RobertWeathers]

If Judge Berman chose this option, he would certainly require the NFL to turn over all of Ted Wells' work product like interview transcripts, league emails, full transcripts of all the text messages and not just the cherry picked texts, all the revisions of the Wells' reports, etc. and will force Jeff Pash to testify if the NFLPA called him. If Judge Berman decides to really screw with the League, he could require them to submit all this stuff to the Court where it would become public record.

So this option is far scarier for the NFL than Brady. It could be a doomsday scenario for them if they are forced to release it to the court under penalty of perjury that they didn't hold anything back. It wouldn't be the edited Wells Report that the new arbitrator, it would be a peek behind the curtain of the Wells Investigation.

Agreed.

I want the Well Report manuscript. Unfiltered...Undoctored.