Freeman: Goodell will Hear Brady's Appeal

[SVN]

I get the feeling that Roger Goodell doesn't really want to suspend Brady. That is why he: distanced himself from the punishment; waited for the Patriots to point out holes in Ted Wells report; assigned himself to hear Brady's appeal;

I think Brady's suspension will be lifted and he will be slapped with a fine for not providing his cell phone. Goodall needs to appear tough in front of other owners and fans, but he also needs to appear that he is: fair in the appeal process; willing to make improvement to procedure carried out by the league; does want to be one to destroy the legacy of the greatest QB ever to play the game.

Its no longer about the punishment or hearing. He obviously foresaw brady appealing and him hearing the appeal thats why he delegated to vincent so maybe that was the original idea but with the pats publishing their context and challenging, he now trying to play the role of hero/judge for PR and for other owners. This is now a ego battle. I bet he reduces zero games since he knows pats have hired kessler.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Agree. Don't think he resigns. But if he is forced out, he's already made more money than he would need in a lifetime. He can retire happy somewhere without a care in the world.

Although, he might want to consider not retiring in N.E.

with guys like Goodell it's about pride, ego and power. Money almost becomes an ancillary issue with guys like him after a certain point. He likes being in a position of power and control as much or more than his paycheck.

 

[smurfalarm]

how long will this drag out then?? by the time it goes to court, brady's 4 games will be up.

If it goes to court and it is the judge's opinion that Brady has standing to sue and is bringing a case that is likely to win, she or he would probably give an injunction that compels the NFL to hold off the suspension until final judgment.

 

[ChoWZa]

I still think this case has no chance in court. There is simply more evidence that a crime was not committed than one was committed. In fact there is hard evidence no crime was committed, with witness testimony and everything. Speculating if Brady knew about a crime that was not committed is illogical. We shouldn't even be talking about text messages.

If Goodell was smart he would save face and remove the suspension. The only strategical point to this move by Goodell is it keeps Kraft held steady for longer. Kraft won't make his move until he finds out Goodell's decision on the appeal. If Goodell handed this off to a 3rd party the gloves would be coming off Kraft right now.

What are they really trying to get Brady with.. conspiracy to deflate a football? Because certainly none were actually deflated. I feel like I'm watching Minority Report and Brady was arrested for a crime he didn't commit yet, but was insisted that he would commit in the future.

 

[Jlaff]

For the lawyers...

Would the NFL be considered an administrative actor of sorts because of their internal rules, and be subject to a reasonableness standard when this gets to court? Or is it considered an original application when it reaches the court system?

My only reason for wondering this, is that if it is in fact a reasonableness standard when it reaches court, Goodell could somehow tailor his appeal judgment in such a way as to make it more difficult to overturn.

 

[Midship]

 

[BigPeteG]

I think Yee has already pointed out that its not really like a civil court ruling because both sides didn't get to cross examine witness or do discovery. I do think that normally courts do not want to get involved in these kinds of sports league penalties.

But its just so clear cut in this particular dispute. Brady is suspended without pay - so they are taking a big chunk of money away from him AND the NFL is the only place where he could reasonably earn that kind of money. And they claim the punishment was for not 'cooperating' with regards to turning over a private cell phone. Not sure you need to be a genius lawyer to figure out the courts might care about that.

Defamation - well they might throw that out. But Roger made it too easy. I'd guess that legal team is really excited about their chances. I mean no offense to the lawyers but how often do you get to represent a guy that you really believe is 100% innocent. That's got to be empowering.

Like the rest of this thread - I believe that Goodell will uphold the ruling. Honestly I wouldn't be shocked if he tried to raise the punishment (though not sure that you can)..

 

[hwc]

I suspect Goodell took the appeal so quickly because he wants to be the hero. Sit down, put his arm around Brady, advise him to grovel a little bit, and then he'll "do right by Tom" and cut the suspension in half.

What Goodell probably doesn't understand is that Brady doesn't give a F about any of that. His reputation, built over years and years of being one of the classiest guys in professional sports has been destroyed and nothing he can do can get it back.

I don't think people in general and Goodell specifically have any idea how ugly this is going to get.

 

[woolster22]

Who handed down the punishment? Vincent or goodell?

I mean did goodell decide 4 games and picks or Vincent?

Vincent, but Goodell okay'd it.

how long will this drag out then?? by the time it goes to court, brady's 4 games will be up.

Unless Roger drags it out to the 4th week of preseason (which I'm sure would result in a lawsuit), Brady won't sit week one, as they will file an injunction (I believe is the term, probably wrong though), delaying the suspension while it goes through the federal court system.

 

[Blackluck]

I suspect Goodell took the appeal so quickly because he wants to be the hero. Sit down, put his arm around Brady, advise him to grovel a little bit, and then he'll "do right by Tom" and cut the suspension in half.

What Goodell probably doesn't understand is that Brady doesn't give a F about any of that. His reputation, built over years and years of being one of the classiest guys in professional sports has been destroyed and nothing he can do can get it back.

I don't think people in general and Goodell specifically have any idea how ugly this is going to get.

Completely agree. The NFL may end up losing it's anti-trust exemption once this goes to court.

 

[Wax Frog]

I don't think people in general and Goodell specifically have any idea how ugly this is going to get.

Nothing stirs my cut-&-paste creativity quite like the prospect of DOOM

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

"@PP_Rich_Hill: Roger Goodell 1) paid for the investigation; 2) signed off on the punishment. There's no real way to claim neutrality."

 

[supafly]

Unless Roger drags it out to the 4th week of preseason (which I'm sure would result in a lawsuit), Brady won't sit week one, as they will file an injunction (I believe is the term, probably wrong though), delaying the suspension while it goes through the federal court system.

Goodell can't drag anything out any longer, so there's no reason to look past the month of May. He now needs to hear the case by the 10th day of Brady officially filing for the appeal, or approx. May 24th, since I believe Brady filed on 5-14. Obviously, if it's the 13th and I'm a day off, you can simply add ten days, thus making the appeal hearing necessary by 5-23.

You are referring to the next process, where Brady (we are all assuming) and his lawyers will file his case in federal court to try and argue that Goodell shouldn't have been the judge, jury, and executioner. During this stage, Brady will argue that he needs to have his appeal "re-heard" by an independent, third-party arbitrator, since Goodell will almost certainly deny his appeal next week (or soon thereafter).

That court date will almost certainly happen sometime before training camp, if we can use the Vilma case as anything of a timeline. It's quite possible that a decision is reached by the opener and the temporary order isn't necessary. We'll have to see, but that's my guess. Of course, not only will the court have to agree to the neutral party, but then that person will have to agree that zero games need to be served. While that's all of our hope, there is still reason for concern that we won't get a truly fair shake, depending on who that "decider" is.

 

[JMC00]

Goodell can't drag anything out any longer, so there's no reason to look past the month of May. He now needs to hear the case by the 10th day of Brady officially filing for the appeal, or approx. May 24th, since I believe Brady filed on 5-14. Obviously, if it's the 13th and I'm a day off, you can simply add ten days, thus making the appeals decision necessary by 5-23.

Where are you getting that from? Greg Hardy filed his appeal on April 24th and it won't be heard until May 28th.

 

[supafly]

Where are you getting that from? Greg Hardy filed his appeal on April 24th and it won't be heard until May 28th.

It's known from dealing with this stuff for the past week. We've heard it about 100 times now.

You can do a simple google search and it will pop up for the first result/article: http://fox13now.com/2015/05/14/defl...ame-suspension-goodell-to-rule-on-the-matter/

"Any appeal hearing will begin within 10 days of the league’s receipt of an appeal. Brady’s appeal would be heard by either NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or an officer of his choosing."

Here's another link from the NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...ension-appeal-heard-goodell-article-1.2222979

 

[supafly]

Also, keep in mind that Goodell allowed Hardy to have his request for the 3rd party to hear his case, so in essence--maybe that counts as Goodell making some type of "decision" during the 10 day span. In other words, it seems as though Goodell waived his right to hear the case, and simply passed it on to the person he named (Henderson, maybe? I don't remember).

OR--maybe Goodell just has to set a date within that 10 day span, thus "addressing" or "hearing" the appeal complaint? That may have been the case with Hardy when Goodell set the date on May 7th for a few weeks down the line. Either way, the appeal from Brady will be heard relatively sooner rather than later, so we'll find out then. In the meantime, just about every outlet has been reporting the 10 day rule.

@JMC00

 

[JMC00]

Also, keep in mind that Goodell allowed Hardy to have his request for the 3rd party to hear his case, so in essence--maybe that counts as Goodell making some type of "decision" during the 10 day span. In other words, it seems as though Goodell waived his right to hear the case, and simply passed it on to the person he named (Henderson, maybe? I don't remember).

OR--maybe Goodell just has to set a date within that 10 day span, thus "addressing" or "hearing" the appeal complaint? That may have been the case with Hardy when Goodell set the date on May 7th for a few weeks down the line. Either way, the appeal from Brady will be heard relatively sooner rather than later, so we'll find out then. In the meantime, just about every outlet has been reporting the 10 day rule.

@JMC00

Pretty sure the 10 day thing was to set an arbitrator and a date. While Goodell picked himself fast I'm sure he'll take the full 10 days to set the date.

That's not saying it won't happen quick I just think Herr Füher will take the full 10 to set a date. Which puts it at the latest May 24 and probably looking at least 2 weeks after that. So my gut says mid-June.

 

[nowayback]

Wow ! If the masks hadn't fallen before, they sure have now. Has godfell lost his mind, frothing at the mouth. Personal vendetta, is this who the owners want at the helm? I could give a crap id he reduces susp to 2 games and I am sure Brady does too. I wonder if the other owners finally told Godell cut the ****e! Lets get this thing over with, you took it too far(wishful thinking) . I f this was a movie, no one would believe it.

The only good thing with this as many have mentioned, it is all neat and tidy for Kessler, you know who the enemy is, and they are not hiding their intentions

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

In the NFL,

Roger that = Screw you

 

[Tunescribe]

Vincent is an interesting guy. He was president of the NFLPA for awhile and now he works for the league. So basically he was a big pro Union guy who got bought out. Regardless of what people might think of unions it's interesting to me that he basically tossed his principles aside for a pay raise. I suppose a lot of people would do that, but Troy Vincent isn't a lot of people. He's a league official and in the public eye.

One of the big ironies of this case and other league cases involving the Patriots is that all the decision-makers have been beaten on the field by New England -- sometimes often. I don't see how that can be fully disregarded; in fact, there's every motivation for bias both personal and institutional.