NFLPA Releases Statement, May Still Pursue Legal Battle
Jim O'Connor - USA TODAY Sports
Tom Brady may have accepted the suspension by the league for the sake of removing any uncertainty for the team in 2016, but that doesn’t mean that the NFLPA is ready to give up just yet.
Considering that future players could find themselves on the wrong end of how Roger Goodell and the league handles discipline, it sounds like they may still take this in front of the Supreme Court, even without Brady.
The Player’s Association released a statement on Friday following Brady’s news to end his own legal pursuit, saying they’re still exploring their options.
“After careful consideration and discussion with Tom Brady, the NFLPA will not be seeking a stay of the four game suspension with the 2nd Circuit,” the NFLPA said in their statement. “This decision was made in the interest of certainty and planning for Tom prior to the New England Patriots season. We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court.”
It certainly behooves them to see this through given everything that’s at stake. Brady’s was locked in an uphill battle given the power Goodell had thanks to the Collective Bargaining agreement, and seeing someone of his stature and the lack of evidence against him be penalized in this manner should be a massive wake up call for the NFLPA.
Whether or not they have any success in the court system remains to be seen, but hopefully when a new CBA is hammered out, “more probable than not” won’t automatically mean a penalty for someone who didn’t do anything wrong to receive it.
Posted Under: Patriots News
