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You have brains @PatsFanInVa.Maybe you can tell me why Kraft believe he doing what best for the fans? I don't doubt his sincerity, but his logic and sense of reasoning is totally beyond me!
There's a thread on here called something like "In Defense of Robert Kraft." The OP in it is a fairly well-reasoned article. I partially disagree with it but some of it is spot on. The first thing I totally disagree with it is a line to the effect that the Pats aren't innocent. Others say it's a context-dependent line, because later he goes down the perception-is-reality route.
What I do agree with is that a court case could go on for months. This would be the news throughout the season. And in the end, Kraft would have the burden of proof, as the plaintiff.
The NFL set itself a low bar, then did not meet it. Kraft would have to meet at least a preponderance of evidence bar for whatever he's charging: Collusion by other teams, a conspiracy b/w the Colts and the league, defamation by the league, etc.
Now Goodell/NFL is the defendant.
So here's a case on why not to fight it - in that same spirit. I won't claim to completely buy it, but here it is.
First of all, the biz interests are effed up - Kraft would be suing himself, in essence (this is not from the article; it's just the obvious.) The Pats are one of the 32 clubs in the league. But let's say what the hell, it's time to go rogue, this cannot stand.
So Goodell the defendant gathers together every out of context text or interview line or whatevs. They claim it's part of their defense. They would have that right. Some of it would look damning, even if they already took their top 10 texts or so and trotted them out in the report. They still have #11-100, right? The pile-up of these leftovers would be endlessly spun against Brady & the Pats the same way as the leaks Goodell used.
The Pats would be seeking to prove (1) their case is explained by the Ideal Gas Law, that the league reversed a key witness' recollections to fit the story, etc; (2) A narrative about the logo gauge vs. no logo gauge... (3) various other down-in-the-weeds details.
So hit #1: Case goes on and on.
Hit #2: Pats have to go by evidence, league can air whatever innuendo it wants.
The big hit is hit #3: Kraft needs to prove the league's intent, in court. This is different from what the NFL did, which is claim various people's intent/actions, outside of a court. (And even before this, the league was leaking defamatory info to the media and then found they had to reverse the memory of an official to make their leaked narrative work. So they did.)
Let's say Kraft won. It would be "Yeah Kraft won, just like OJ was innocent. Look at the texts! (or that line from that one interview w/Brady, or whatever other damaging info the NFL uses in its defense). Oh yeah and the poor defendant moves to subpoena Brady's phone, of course. Every time he texted Gisele and said "let's get to work on #3" and Gisele said she had a headache becomes front page stuff. Or if Brady made a pass at a cheerleader, just flirting. Or whatever stupid crap you can think of. And of course, everything that actually IS about football. Or any horror that actually did happen - what if Brady isn't perfect? That shows up too... all supposedly important to the defense.
Let's say Kraft lost. Everybody worried about the Pats' reputation would have a lot more to worry about. Hell, they might even if Kraft won.
In return, we get to expose down-in-the-weeds details that 90% of people just don't follow.
I'm not a lawyer, I do communications. But I think Kraft left his options open in a very public way and built up an expectation. If he truly thought the legal route would hurt more than it helped he could have limited the damage. No hug, no "it's best for the shield and I love me some shield," no "I still respect the commish." He'd still have to accept what happened, but it would have been nice to see the charges dropped with a blistering "last word" critique, and then "we're on to Pittsburgh."
That would not change anything. It would be stagecraft and words. But it would at least match his buildup.