Tom Brady acknowledges the crowd as he runs onto the field for the beginning of Patriots training camp at Gillette, Thursday, July 30, 2015. Staff photo by John Wilcox.
A New York federal judge has told lawyers for Tom Brady and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to “tone down the rhetoric” and "pursue a mutually acceptable resolution” in the ongoing Deflategate controversy that has already been in two courthouses in two time zones.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman laid down the admonishment just hours after a Minnesota judge ordered the NFL Players Association’s case to be moved to New York — the jurisdiction where the NFL first filed its case to have Goodell’s decision to suspend Brady for four games upheld.
“While this litigation is ongoing, it is appropriate (and helpful) for all counsel and all parties in this case to tone down their rhetoric,” Berman wrote. He added later, “If they have not already done so, the parties and counsel are directed forthwith actively to begin to pursue a mutually acceptable resolution of this case.”
The NFLPA filed its suit in Minnesota yesterday in hopes to reverse Goodell decision in a court that has been player friendly. A day earlier, the NFL had beaten the union to the punch, filing in New York shortly after the decision came down, hoping to take advantage of the "first-to-file" rule.
This morning, Richard Kyle, a federal court judge in Minnesota, wrote that "the court sees little reason for this action to have been commenced in Minnesota at all. Brady plays for a team in Massachusetts; the Union is headquartered in Washington D.C.; the NFL is headquartered in New York; the arbitration proceedings took place in New York; and the award was issued in New York.
"In the undersigned's view, therefore, it makes eminent sense the NFL would have commenced its action seeking confirmation of the award in the Southern District of New York. Why the instant action was filed here, however, is far less clear."
The union was hoping the case would land in front of U.S. District Court Judge David Doty, who recently vacated the indefinite suspension of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
Today's ruling does not assure success for the NFL, but it is definitely an initial victory in a process that could consume at least the rest of the summer. Berman — the New York judge — made it very clear that he “is fully prepared to devote the time and attention necessary to help the parties resolve this case via litigation and/or by mutual consent.”
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