The NFL this morning suffered a major setback in federal court , with Judge Richard Berman overturning the four-game suspension of Patriots QB Tom Brady. Berman slammed the NFL for the process it used to suspend Brady, and perhaps more critically, described as "legally misplaced" Commissioner Roger Goodell’s contention he could suspend Brady for conduct detrimental to the league. The league will appeal the decision, though it appears unlikely the NFL can keep Brady off the field when the season starts next Thursday. Berman wrote the suspension is premised upon several significant legal deficiencies:
1) Inadequate notice to Brady of both his potential discipline (four- game suspension) and his alleged misconduct.
2) Denial of the opportunity for Brady to examine one of two lead investigators, namely NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash.
3) Denial of equal access to investigative files, including witness interview notes.
SERVING NOTICE: Berman repeatedly in his 40-page decision came back to the fact that the NFL had not provided notice to Brady he could be suspended for being aware of the alleged ball deflation scheme before the AFC Championship, or that his failure to provide electronic communications could also result in suspension. Berman wrote, "A player’s right to notice is at the heart of the CBA and, for that matter, of our criminal justice and civil justice system." Berman also found the denial by Goodell to allow Pash to be interviewed was a fatal flaw. Brady had the right to find “why the NFL’s general counsel came to edit a supposedly independent investigative report" (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer).
BIG HIT FOR THE LEAGUE: NFL Network’s Judy Battista said this is another in a line of “repeated losses in front of judges.” for the NFL and "setbacks" for the commissioner's disciplinary power. There is "no question they are piling up.” Battista said she was “hearing from owners who were saying, ‘Look, we’re tired of this. It might even be time for us to reconsider commissioner disciplinary powers, this might be untenable for the long-term." NFL Net's Ian Rapoport reported the league will not "fight and try to keep Tom Brady off the field, mainly because they do not believe they get” a stay and the league will “accept the fact" he will be on the field against the Steelers next Thursday. Tulane professor Gabe Feldman said "there needs to be some true independence in the process” of league discipline (NFL Network, 9/3). ESPN’s Adam Schefter said the league is "going to come under heavy criticism because it has lost a key case again, just as it lost the Bounty case as that was overturned, just as Ray Rice was overturned, just as Greg Hardy was overturned, just as Adrian Peterson was overturned." Brady's win is an "embarrassment for the NFL," considering it got to "pick the courthouse." Schefter: "Even if the NFL had been handed a victory today, which they were not, they still would have lost because the methods and their procedures all came under fierce questioning and fierce criticism from a federal judge that they picked, basically” (ESPN, 9/3).
REACTION TO RULING: The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham said of the ruling, "Judge Berman dropping the quotation marks around 'independent' when referencing the Wells Report is a sick burn. Hilarious." Bleacher Report's Matt Miller: "Watching NFL owned network's analysts criticize the NFL is fascinating." ESPN's Trey Wingo: "Here's what's really really sad: We are still talking about this 228 days later and a week before start of season. PR Disaster for NFL." SportsBusiness Journal's Bill King: "NFL and Brady turned what should have been a one-day, down page story into a soap opera. Both come away tarnished. And deservedly so."
OUTLOOK ON GOODELL:
Members of the media took to Twitter with reaction on Goodell.
SI's
Doug Farrar:, "The real question now: How many times can Goodell screw this up before the owners start looking elsewhere? Goodell has screwed up the NFL's vision of justice so badly and repeatedly, he's become his own bad precedent." Football writer
Ollie Connolly: "Millions of dollars, leaks, false information and embarrassment. Time to go @nflcommish." The Philadelphia Inquirer's
Jonathan Tamari: "Is it possible to still believe the Patriots cheat AND Roger Goodell is a clown? Cuz that's what I'm going with." ESPN's
Scott Van Pelt wrote, "This wasn't What Not To Do 101, this was advanced level mess making by Goodell."
NEW LEGAL PRECEDENT? ESPN's Roger Cossack said, "If the Second Circuit upholds this decision, it’s a new ballgame for arbitration law” (ESPN, 9/3). NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha said, “This is going to be a landmark moment for the NFLPA and possibly for the NFL going forward in dealing with personal conduct policy.” Chadiha said “it’s time for Roger Goodell and the NFL to really think long and hard about whether they want to have constant coverage of players walking into courts” (NFL Network, 9/3). Agent Drew Rosenhaus said of the NFL’s course of action, “If I were them, I would move on. This has been a disaster. ... It is a terrible embarrassment. It is a huge victory for Brady and the NFL Players Association and it is absolutely something that will set precedent, in my opinion, for other players going forward" (“Squawk on the Street,” CNBC, 9/3). ESPN's Skip Bayless said, "In the next CBA, the NFL will appear to the players far more vulnerable than they have in the past” ("First Take," ESPN2, 9/3).
WHO GETS THE BLAME? ESPN'S Joe Banner said NFL owners are "very strongly" behind Goodell. Banner: "I don’t think that will change. I think there’s a lot in this ruling about Jeff Pash. ... There were points in here about Troy Vincent. People may be, around the league, a little more quick to scrutinize them than Roger. I think his support is and will remain very strong” (ESPN, 9/3). The N.Y. Post's Bart Hubbuch tweeted: "Roger Goodell probably won't lose his job because of this, but I can't guarantee the same for NFL chief counsel Jeff Pash."
