The NFL did not reach a settlement this morning in Deflategate, and U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said he would rule by tomorrow or Wednesday whether to lift Tom Brady's four-game suspension. Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell were in court, as were NFL Giants President & CEO John Mara and union player rep Jay Feely. Berman had requested Mara's help, though Mara previously had turned it down. He apparently changed his mind. Mara declined to comment. Brady and NFLPA officials went into the judge's chambers to discuss settlement talks with the NFL and Berman at 10:25am ET. The judge told the court room at about 11:10am that no settlement had been reached. He praised both sides for their effort (Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer). ESPN's Adam Schefter this morning prior to hearing said once Berman's decision comes in, it immediately "is going to be appealed to the 2nd Circuit Court, so this is going to go on and on. But the judge’s decision is the real big decision, because even when the other side appeals it, it could play out over the course of a couple of years” (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 8/31).
LESS EQUALS MORE? In Boston, Ben Volin wrote no matter "what the owners say over the next six years, the reality is it would benefit both the NFL and the union to reduce commissioner powers and formalize the league’s discipline processes, and to do it jointly." The NFL "likes to brag" that Goodell "has the broad governing powers spelled out by the CBA, but it’s been nothing but a headache." The "best move would be to have more of an independent process, and to allow the NFLPA to have a voice and to split the costs." One popular suggestion is to "have a panel of, say, six arbitrators -- three submitted by the NFL, three by the union -- and randomly draw an arbitrator for each hearing" (
BOSTON GLOBE, 8/30). NFLPA President and Bengals OT Eric Winston said, "I'm glad they're coming around. I'm glad they're starting to see what we've been seeing and what we've been saying" (
USATODAY.com, 8/28).
HE SAID, HE SAID: ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Thursday said both Patriots Owner Robert Kraft and President Jonathan Kraft called to "apologize" for how the fallout from his report on under-inflated footballs "has gone down." But in Boston, Jim McBride noted Jonathan Kraft "contradicted Mortensen's claim." He said, "We don’t blame the reporters, we blame their sources. We asked the league to correct the misinformation ... the sources of the misinformation are the only ones that need to apologize. We haven’t (apologized) and we have no need to. Our issue is with the people who were leaking misinformation" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/29).
POWERS THAT BE: In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy wrote Goodell's "overpunishment" of the Patriots is "pandering" to owners of the Panthers, Steelers, Cowboys and Giants. Shaughnessy: "Many envious rivals feel the Patriots got off too easy after Spygate and continue to bend the rules. NFL power brokers want Goodell to make New England pay this time" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/30).
