Pats angling to get picks back?

[Huckleberry1]

"Yet with absolutely no evidence of any actions of wrongdoing by Tom Brady in the Wells Report the lawyers in the league office insisted upon imposing and defending unwarranted discipline......."

Robert Kraft September 3rd 2015

One of my biggest problems with Kraft is his outright refusal to put the blame where it belongs, on Roger Goodell. Say what you want about the owners pushing it a commissioner with integrity would tell them the punishment will fit the crime and there was no crime here. That he allows himself to Be a hand puppet simply speaks to his lack of integrity.

 

[Galeb]

Too many people are speaking in absolutes. Not a wise thing to do when you have most of the information, nevermind with a complete lack of visibility into what's going on behind the scenes. The best chance for the Pats to get the picks back is if the Krafts obtain undeniable proof of the league or some owners doing very bad things. Don't get your hopes, but don't be so closed-minded as to say that getting the picks back is impossible.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

100% agreed.

Even if the case goes to the US Supreme Court and the League loses, it will only resolve the narrow matter of Goodell's authority under the CBA in relation to one of the League's players.

As far as the draft picks (and team fine) go, "Shaming" seems to be the only strategy left...and it's not gonna work.

How about, after the appeal is won, he start demanding that the League's investigation notes and internal memos be made public? Start making a little more noise about how he was given a gag order as to the correct psi measurements?

Once the appeal is out of the way, it's time to start getting aggressive about calling the league out on this. Too late to get this year's picks back? Demand compensatory picks . . . swapped picks with other teams behind the frame job . . . and most of all, Goodell's resignation forthwith!

 

[Ring 6]

"I was wrong to put my faith in the League. Tom Brady is a person of great integrity and a great ambassador of the game, both on and off the field. Yet for reasons that I cannot comprehend there are those in the league office who are more determined to prove that they were right rather than admit any culpability of their own or take any responsibility for the initiation of the process and the ensuing investigation that was flawed."

Didn't see the word "lawyers" in there.

Osmosis suggests to me that Kraft in fact DOES have a problem with Goodell

Unless your osmosis suggests that "those in the league office who are more determined to prove they are right" exempts Roger for some reason. I don't think it does.

"Those in the league office" is referring to lawyers. If I'm not mistaken wasn't it in exactly the same comments that he said this is what happens when lawyers are involved?

I'd love to believe Kraft blames, dislikes and is trying to oust Goodell but there is nothing he has said or done that indicates that at all.

 

[Ring 6]

I think it's well about time that we as Pats fans stopped citing and defending an arbitrary rule in the NFL bylaws. This is Goodell's excuse - and shouldn't be used by anyone to explain why justice can't be corrected - especially when it unfairly impacts the on field quality.

It's like finding out a guy on death row is innocent with new evidence - but then having everyone - including his own "fans" say - "oh well, he forfeited his right to appeal, too bad he still has to die, but we all understand."

But if the owners want to start getting nitpicky about following their own rules, then I'd point them back to Article VIII of their bylaws where they state that the Commissioner "shall be a person of unquestioned integrity."

If they can ignore that rule, they can ignore the rule that says they can't consider lifting a penalty they all privately know and admit was a bogus charge that has, and will cost them as owners untold millions in legal expenses and lost revenues in a future CBA negotiations

Now, I know this won't happen - for various reasons. But I'm going to continue to point out the hypocrisy of the owners, NFL in General and Goodell specifically and make these lost draft picks yet another albatross of corruption and incompetence around their necks.

All ANYONE who is a fan of the NFL wants - and INSISTS on - is fairness in the game of football

When the Commissioner and his office are unfair, the game of football is unfair, and when the game of football is unfair, the game itself is seriously threatened.

The fact that the picks will not be given back, sadly, is proof that the NFL is unfair - and we shouldn't let anyone forget that.

I wish you were right. But when 'we accept the punishment and will not appeal' happens it's not an arbitrary rule, its giving away your path of recourse.
If Kraft were now allowed to appeal what would stop any player from appealing a fine years down the road because someone else got a lesser fine for the same thing? Kraft was allowed to appeal. That right wasn't taken away from, he CHOSE not to exercise it. That's not on the league, that's on Kraft.
Even an appeal, and loss, would have given him firmer ground now to say there is new evidence, but he accepted the penalty without even putting up a defense.

 

[Huckleberry1]

And he mentioned the lawyers earlier too.

I'm no Bob Kraft but I have been, and actually am in, a similar situation.

It often makes sense to make the lawyers the fall guys. Kraft personally attacking Roger - as damning has his July statement about his faith in the league and unnamed individuals in the league office is - doesn't get this resolved.

You always want to give someone a way out, and letting Goodell have a change of heart and blame the lawyers, while he himself saving some face, is the way one would want to approach this with anyone with an ego as large as Roger's.

Personally and publicly humiliating Roger isn't going to help Kraft in any negotiation (though it DOES help if the rest of us, and the media, do that for him!)

I get where you are coming from but think we are well past that point and that he needs to turn up the heat on Goodell. They aren't getting the picks bank regardless but causing Goodell as much bad publicity as possible is the way to ultimately getting him out.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

My hope, based on zero evidence, is that after allowing himself to be raped & pillaged of #1 picks not once but twice, Bob Kraft has seen the light and somehow developed situational awareness of his vaunted 31's behind the scenes machinations and is doing SOMETHING to prevent yet another successful attack on the franchise and its quest for a 5th ring. I pray he doesn't think they're done with shafting the Pats.

I'd love it if someone here had any credible indication of such proactive actions.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

How about, after the appeal is won, he start demanding that the League's investigation notes and internal memos be made public? Start making a little more noise about how he was given a gag order as to the correct psi measurements?

Once the appeal is out of the way, it's time to start getting aggressive about calling the league out on this. Too late to get this year's picks back? Demand compensatory picks . . . swapped picks with other teams behind the frame job . . . and most of all, Goodell's resignation forthwith!

he had his chance to call the League out and he passed it up.

Goodell is an idiot, as we all seem to agree. But he's the Owners' idiot, doing their bidding as the hired help.

Anybody they got to replace him would be just as bad, since they wouldn't hire a person of integrity like Tagliabue or Rozelle in today's environment where this has become a rich man's game with the goal of getting richer taking precedence over everything else.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I wish you were right. But when 'we accept the punishment and will not appeal' happens it's not an arbitrary rule, its giving away your path of recourse.
If Kraft were now allowed to appeal what would stop any player from appealing a fine years down the road because someone else got a lesser fine for the same thing? Kraft was allowed to appeal. That right wasn't taken away from, he CHOSE not to exercise it. That's not on the league, that's on Kraft.
Even an appeal, and loss, would have given him firmer ground now to say there is new evidence, but he accepted the penalty without even putting up a defense.

It's not happening plain and simple because Goodell won't ever acknowledge he was wrong - for reasons now that go well beyond FrameGate

But if the NFL stance reflected the facts of their own investigation, they'd have no basis to withhold the draft picks

But I agree, I'd like to see Kraft more active even in demanding that the NFL be transparent and release their findings on PSI readings or other measures to illustrate the injustice here

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

he had his chance to call the League out and he passed it up.

Goodell is an idiot, as we all seem to agree. But he's the Owners' idiot, doing their bidding as the hired help.

Anybody they got to replace him would be just as bad, since they wouldn't hire a person of integrity like Tagliabue or Rozelle in today's environment where this has become a rich man's game with the goal of getting richer taking precedence over everything else.

I dunno maybe Kraft could take the position that new information came to light after he agreed to accept the penalty?
I know this is weak since he already called BS on the whole thing before accepting the penalty but there has to be some angle.

I still can't believe he was stupid enough to put himself in this position or why he simply couldn't have said, "my trusted employees are denying the allegations so I can't accept the penalty until the issues with them are finally resolved."

 

[Huckleberry1]

How about, after the appeal is won, he start demanding that the League's investigation notes and internal memos be made public? Start making a little more noise about how he was given a gag order as to the correct psi measurements?

Once the appeal is out of the way, it's time to start getting aggressive about calling the league out on this. Too late to get this year's picks back? Demand compensatory picks . . . swapped picks with other teams behind the frame job . . . and most of all, Goodell's resignation forthwith!

This is what I want as well. As an owner Kraft helped to pay for the Well's investigation and report and he has every right to the work product from it, and to make it public. People can say that Kraft cannot sue the league but when they are denying access to information he has paid to be collected I think he can argue an exception to that. He's not contesting the sanctions at that point he is simply asking for access to information he helped pay to obtain. Imo every owner has this right and he should push the issue all the way to the courts to gain access to it. Any owner who would argue otherwise puts themselves at the league's peril. I don't believe they will ever get the picks back but this is the best way to challenge and debunk the conclusions.