NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "will not attend" next Thursday's Steelers-Patriots season-opener, marking the "first time Goodell" will not attend the Thursday night opening game since he was named commissioner in '06. NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said Goodell will watch the game on TV because he "believes the focus should be on the game on the field and the festivities surrounding the Patriots' Super Bowl championship." McCarthy added that the commissioner "will attend a game on the NFL's opening Sunday, though it's unclear at this point which one it'll be" (FOXSPORTS.com, 9/3).
Goodell today issued a statement in response to Judge Richard Berman nullifying Patriots QB Tom Brady's Deflategate suspension. Goodell: "We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today's decision. We will appeal today's ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner's responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end."
Also today, NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith issued a statement on the ruling. It reads in part, "This decision should prove, once and for all, that our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this Commissioner the authority to be unfair, arbitrary and misleading. While the CBA grants the person who occupies the position of Commissioner the ability to judiciously and fairly exercise the designated power of that position, the union did not agree to attempts to unfairly, illegally exercise that power, contrary to what the NFL has repeatedly and wrongfully claimed" (THE DAILY).
