The chief principals in the NFLPA’s lawsuit against the NFL over Patriots QB Tom Brady's four-game suspension -- Brady, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith -- are "all due in federal district court Wednesday morning in downtown New York City ... after Judge Richard Berman scheduled a settlement conference between the parties," according to Ben Volin of the BOSTON GLOBE. Berman "has taken the unusual step of overseeing the hearings himself instead of handing them off to a magistrate, seemingly determined to steer the two parties toward a settlement instead of allowing a trial to run its course." The sides "are far apart," but Berman is "going to try to broker peace." Berman’s office confirmed that the settlement conference will begin at 11:00am ET in the judge’s courtroom, and "will technically be open to the public -- but probably not for long." Both the NFL and NFLPA "probably will make a brief opening statement in front of everybody, but then the parties are expected to move to the judge’s chambers, where each will have an opportunity to present its case and engage in private mediation." No cameras, cellphones or any electronic equipment "will be allowed in the courtroom." If a settlement cannot be reached Wednesday, the two sides "will file opposition briefs on Friday, and reconvene in Berman’s courthouse again on Aug. 19." They "have asked Berman to reach a judgment by Sept. 4, six days before the Patriots’ regular-season opener" against the Steelers (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/10).
TRYING TO FIND COMMON GROUND: THE MMQB's Peter King notes Berman "cannot force the NFL and NFLPA to settle and withdraw their lawsuits," but he can "aggressively suggest ways for them to find common ground." One line of settlement "would be a reduced penalty, such as a one-game suspension or a fine without a suspension." Another "would be the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to a second appeal and having it heard by someone other than Goodell or a close ally." If the parties do not settle, the Aug. 19 hearing will be "far more adversarial" (MMQB.SI.com, 8/10). The AP's Larry Neumeister reported Berman has a "history of encouraging fast resolutions to perplexing problems." He "quickly defined the ground rules in his first written orders" for the case and made clear that settling the case "is a priority, the heated rhetoric must stop, documents will be public, and Goodell and Brady will come to court." Judge William Pauley III said that Berman "is the right judge to navigate the pressures of the Brady-Goodell showdown." Pauley: "If there’s anybody on our bench who can resolve a case, it’s Richard" (AP, 8/8).
WISHING WELLS: In Boston, Karen Guregian reported in the NFL's brief to Berman submitted Friday alongside the NFLPA's "was the argument Brady is being punished for misconduct that goes well beyond the scope of 'general awareness,' which was the finding in the Wells Report." It "was pretty much a rehash of issues that already have been presented with a few enhanced arguments, a couple of new wrinkles." The NFLPA "attacked Goodell and his alleged impartiality as an arbitrator." Part of the criticism "dealt with Goodell’s reliance on Ted Wells as an independent investigator, and how the role of Wells and several of his colleagues seemed to be in conflict with that principle." The NFL suggested that it "didn’t matter if Wells was independent" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/9). NFL attorneys wrote the CBA "does not require an ‘independent’ investigator prior to the imposition of discipline, and indeed it is commonplace for NFL personnel other than the commissioner to investigate the problematic conduct." The BOSTON GLOBE's Volin noted the NFLPA "argued in its lawsuit that Brady’s appeal hearing June 23 was fundamentally unfair in part because Paul/Weiss attorneys acted as the NFL’s defense counsel" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/9).
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Goodell has been criticized for his reliance
on Ted Wells in investigations |
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: In Canton, Todd Porter reported Goodell "has no plans to reduce" Brady's suspension. Goodell during an interview at the Pro Football HOF said, "The integrity of the game is the most important thing. The integrity of the game is something we will always protect. The rules apply to everybody. That is my job in particular, to make sure everyone from our players to our coach, to our fans and our partners, that they all recognize we’re going to play by these sets of rules, and that’s part of our values and standards." He continued, "We issued the decision just last week. We’re in the midst of litigation to ... ensure that that’s enforced the way we ruled on that, after a long process that is established in our collective bargaining agreement. That’s something we’ll play through" (Canton REPOSITORY, 8/8).
REACHING A TIPPING POINT? The BOSTON GLOBE's Volin wrote the treatment of Brady and the "entire Deflategate saga has been the tipping point for" NFLers who are "fed up with Roger Goodell blatantly disregarding the rules laid out" in the CBA. The players "have now had to take legal action three times in the last year to prevent Goodell from abusing his powers -- Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Brady." The players "also took action against Goodell for his player suspensions in the Saints’ Bountygate scandal, and came out victorious." It is "one thing for Goodell to get tough on players accused of domestic violence and drunken driving," but when he "brings the hammer down on Brady for a minor infraction and justifies his punishment with a sham of an investigation and appeals process, Goodell only further proves that he doesn’t deserve the power he has." It "will be interesting to see how someone like Robert Kraft handles this at the next CBA negotiations." Kraft was "all in favor of Goodell having total power until it worked against him in Deflategate" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/9).
STILL INCOGNITO: On Long Island, Bob Glauber reported after his involvement in the Dolphins' bullying scandal in '13, Bills G Richie Incognito remains "highly critical of the way Goodell and the league dealt with his situation." That "includes some strongly worded opinions about league-appointed investigator" Wells, who also looked into Incognito's incident. Incognito believes that Brady "is being subjected to some of the issues that the guard believes painted him in a negative light." He said, "It's bogus, the whole system in how it's set up with Roger and the complete, absolute power he has. He has so much power and he hires independent investigators who come in and are obviously not independent. They come in with an agenda and they come in looking to find facts to back up their argument. All the facts are slanted in their favor. Ted Wells came in with a mission against me. Ted Wells came in slanted against me and everything in his report was slanted against me. There were some things in there that would have helped my cause that were left out." Incognito said that he "would prefer that NFL discipline be taken out of Goodell's hands -- at least somewhat -- and that the league use independent arbitration to handle the appeals process." He said, "With Roger, with so much power, just keeps fumbling over independent investigations and making everything public. I think it just needs to be a more concise system. Roger can't be the judge, jury and executioner on this thing" (NEWSDAY, 8/9).
