Goodell Being 'Pushed' By Influential Owners to Keep Brady's Suspension at Four Games
As the madness surrounding DeflateGate continues, it appears there are some other NFL Owners out there that want to keep Patriots quarterback Tom Brady off the field as long as possible in 2015.
According to ProFootballTalk.com there are reportedly a "handful of influential owners" that want NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to hold firm on the original four-game suspension that was handed down and not to reduce it. The obvious issue is the fact that Brady and his camp want the suspension wiped out completely, which all signs seem to point to an inevitable meeting in federal court between the two sides.
The site also reports that settlement discussions have occurred, but so far no progress has reportedly been made toward a deal at this point.
Peter King of MMQB recently suggested that the NFL should wait until 2016 before making a ruling, allowing them to have an opportunity to measure game balls in adverse weather conditions to see for themselves how the footballs are actually affected, which would give them an opportunity to make a more educated decision.
“I think it takes a leader to stand up and say, ‘We’re going to be measuring the air pressure in football for the first time ever this season, before and during and after games," wrote King. "And this is too important an issue to not have all the evidence in-house before we make a ruling.”
That would seem to be the logical route if the Goodell really wants to get this one right. But for now, the battle continues.
