Brady and the Patriots - a new ruling

[easysurfer]

Looks like the Jimmy Garoppolo era may take a back seat after all:

Quote:

In a major setback for the N.F.L., New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady prevailed in his battle to have his four-game suspension overturned Thursday, as a federal judge reversed a ruling by Commissioner Roger Goodell to bench one of the league’s biggest stars in a dispute over underinflated balls he used in a January championship game.

Quote:

Even if the league believed Brady had obstructed the investigation, by having a cellphone destroyed before it could be fully examined, the judge sided with Brady’s argument that “there is no evidence of a record of past suspensions based purely on obstructing a league investigation.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/sp...-patriots.html

But the biggest resut was not only did Brady manage to get the suspension struck down, but got a better artist sketch the second time around.

Quote:

The last time sketch artist Jane Rosenberg had to draw a portrait of Tom Brady in court, the results weren’t so pretty—her work was derided by fans for depicting a version of the New England Patriots quarterback that some likened to Lurch from The Addams Family.

Tom Brady Sketch Artist Gets Another Shot at Court Drawing

[aaronc879]

That makes me sick. Instead of discouraging and reducing cheating, they are basically saying "go ahead, there will be no consequences". They should be coming down heard on people like Ndamukong Suh, and Brady who cheat or significantly break the rules. Instead they do nothing or nearly nothing. Brady gets to keep his Superbowl ring and Suh gets a new 9-figure contract when he should've been kicked out of the league.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaronc879 That makes me sick. Instead of discouraging and reducing cheating, they are basically saying "go ahead, there will be no consequences". They should be coming down heard on people like Ndamukong Suh, and Brady who cheat or significantly break the rules. Instead they do nothing or nearly nothing. Brady gets to keep his Superbowl ring and Suh gets a new 9-figure contract when he should've been kicked out of the league.

This must really bother you, Aaron. I assume you are a younger guy. If you had been an NFL fan in the 70s somebody would have had to remove all sharp objects in your home for your personal safety.


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[easysurfer]

My feelings are mixed on the outcome. On one hand, I believe there should be consequences for actions and it looks like Brady, well, is Teflon Tom. On the other hand, I think Goodell went overboard. Plus, I like to notion that if I have my own private phone, I don't need to turn that over to my employer if they suspect something.

Suh is just a big bully. I'm sure someday if he gets hit by a cheap shot, he won't have much sympathy by many.

I may not watch much if at all of the Pats opener, as I really wanted to see Jimmy Garoppolo start.

[Corporateburnout]

Makes me HAPPY to see the league get slapped AGAIN in court. What is the score now 0-6 in their last 6 cases?

Goodell has to realize by now that the CBA gives him the final authority on player discipline but does not give him authority to "apply his own brand of industrial justice" according to Judge Berman and the last 5 judges/independent arbitrators.

[utrecht]

Goodell is an idiot and oversteps his bounds fining people on a regular basis, but this time he was right. He may not have enough evidence to convict Brady in a court of law, but its blatantly obvious that he cheated and destroyed his phone to cover it up. The extent of his cheating we will never know. Nobody is saying he took the air out the balls himself.

This is a slap in the face to the NFL.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht Goodell is an idiot and oversteps his bounds fining people on a regular basis, but this time he was right. He may not have enough evidence to convict Brady in a court of law, but its blatantly obvious that he cheated and destroyed his phone to cover it up. The extent of his cheating we will never know. Nobody is saying he took the air out the balls himself. This is a slap in the face to the NFL.

Well I'm in agreement with you on Goodell being an idiot. (that's probably a first)

How would you like it if your employer suspended you for 3 months with no pay without enough evidence of wrong doing?

How about a 3 months suspension for obstructing an investigation when a coworker was only fined for the same infraction?

[Car-Guy]

I'm not a Brady fan and I don't know if he had anything to do with deflating the footballs or not (probably did) but as I understand it, they couldn't prove it.

What happened to the "general concept of" you are innocent until proven guilty?

[eytonxav]

No Goodell fan here, and due process or not, doesn't the court system have more important matters to attend to.

[Dawg52]

The whole thing was overblown imo. A fine and perhaps a 1 game suspension would have been enough and more than likely, no appeal would have been sought. But 4 games, a first round draft pick and huge fines were way over the top. I'm glad the judge over turned the suspension.

[aaronc879]

He has a net worth in the hundreds of millions. A fine means nothing to him. 2 game suspension and 1 year probation would've been reasonable. Although I think he should've gotten his Superbowl ring taken away as well.

[utrecht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corporateburnout Well I'm in agreement with you on Goodell being an idiot. (that's probably a first) How would you like it if your employer suspended you for 3 months with no pay without enough evidence of wrong doing? How about a 3 months suspension for obstructing an investigation when a coworker was only fined for the same infraction?

The judge tried to compare Favre and Brady's situations which is what you're doing. They are apples and oranges. Favre was under investigation for something completely non football related (sending obscene pics to a female). Brady was being investigated for cheating and the obstructing of the investigation was just a by product.

If I got suspended at work for slapping a handcuffed prisoner (I was a cop) and a co-worker only got fined for slapping his brother during an argument at home....I would be fine with it. We both slapped someone but one is work related where I am acting under color of law and one has nothing to do with work and he is acting as a private person. One is much more serious just like Brady's case is much more serious than Favre's was.

Based on this ruling, just about everyone that Goodell has punished should appeal because he has given out all kinds of arbitrary fines and suspensions. There have been fines for vicious hits to the head when the replay clearly shows the hit wasn't to the head....etc. James Harrison has been fined so many times its become a running joke.

[Corporateburnout]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht Based on this ruling, just about everyone that Goodell has punished should appeal because he has given out all kinds of arbitrary fines and suspensions. There have been fines for vicious hits to the head when the replay clearly shows the hit wasn't to the head....etc. James Harrison has been fined so many times its become a running joke.

The NFL disciplinary policy is arbitrary and will be overturned in courts as long as Goodell is the "judge, jury and executioner". The NFL defense is article 46 which defers to the collective bargaining agreement which gives it the authority to decide on player discipline but the courts and independent arbitrators have concluded in the last 6 cases brought in front of them that the NFL discipline lacks "fundamental fairness"

[Midpack]

[harley]

Why are his legs still moving if he's dead? Is this some Walking Dead thing?

[RAE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by utrecht ... its blatantly obvious that he cheated and destroyed his phone to cover it up.

Yes, without a doubt. One of the ball-handlers even called himself "the deflater", for crying out loud! To think that these guys would do that without being directed to do it by the QB (Brady) is simply not plausible.

The sad thing about the ruling in this case is that it has nothing to do with whether the NFL was correct in their determination that Brady likely had the footballs deflated. The ruling was simply based on whether Goodell followed proper procedures or not in determining the punishment. The judge decided that he did not follow proper procedures, so the suspension was vacated. Now, everyone is running around declaring that the judge found Brady innocent of the charges, when in fact the judge had nothing to say about that at all!! Of course Brady was involved in this, and probably has been doing it for years....

[pb4uski]

I see the Brady/Patriot haters are out again. Boring but predictable.

It's pretty simple... a federal judge looked at the facts and circumstances of what the NFL did and decided that Goodell did not treat Brady or the Patriots fairly as the CBA requires. And while the ruling is principally an indictment of the NFL's process (or more properly, the lack of due process) it is also indirectly saying that the evidence that Brady or the Pats cheated wasn't commensurate with the penalties the emperor dished out.

Goodell has no clothes and should be fired for being incompetent. 0-6 in court doesn't bode well for him.

Time to move on.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski I see the Brady/Patriot haters are out again. Boring but predictable.

aka, Hatriots...

[utrecht]

Agree that Goodell needs to be fired, but he wont be because the owners support his heavy handed treatment of the players.

I will admit that I hate the Patriots, but its not because they are a great team (which they are), its because they keep cheating...and getting caught. How can anyone support that?

[RAE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Goodell has no clothes and should be fired for being incompetent. 0-6 in court doesn't bode well for him.

I don't disagree with this comment. However, it doesn't change the fact that Brady cheated, and has likely has been cheating for years. There is a very real possibility that the outcome of several games over the years have been influenced by this cheating (slightly deflated footballs are easier to grip, easier to catch, especially in wet conditions). So, this is not, nor should it be, a trivial matter to the NFL, nor to people who expect the game to be played fairly, according to the rules.

To go even further, the whole Patriots organization really needs a housecleaning from top to bottom. They've demonstrated a pattern of behavior over the years that shows no respect for the rules of the game.

That's my last comment on this.......