[FOOTBALL] War of words continues among Deflategate attorneys

The heated rhetoric between attorneys involved in the ongoing Deflategate saga continues to flood the federal docket, less than a week before both sides will meet before the judge who has been asking them to settle.

Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney representing Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, attacked NFL lawyers today, who yesterday dismissed 19 cases his team gave to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman to review last week.

“(T)he NFL’s submission ignores how the denial of fundamental fairness in the arbitration at issue here so closely resembles the denials of fair process in the decisions we presented to the Court,” Kessler wrote in a two-page letter filed today in New York federal court.

Kessler and other union attorneys are working to overturn Brady’s four-game suspension, which was handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. They have argued that Goodell should not have been the arbitrator to decide whether Brady was guilty of being generally aware that footballs may have been partially deflated during the 2015 AFC Championship.

On Aug. 19, attorneys for both sides argued their case to Berman. The judge spent considerable time poking holes in the NFL’s case, while allowing Kessler to argue with very little interruption. After finishing his argument, Kessler had one of his associates give Berman a list of cases that he said bolstered Brady’s case.

The NFL said the cases didn’t apply to Brady’s arbitration.

“These cases confirm that courts vacate arbitration awards only in extraordinary circumstances, none of which are present here,” NFL attorney Daniel Nash wrote yesterday.

That is the essence of the argument the NFL has made from the beginning: Judges very rarely overturn arbitration awards, and Berman should follow that rule in Brady’s case.

Brady’s attorneys, meanwhile, have argued that there are four reasons to overturn what they call an unprecedented suspension: that Brady had no notice; that no standards were set for testing the PSI of the footballs; that Goodell was biased; and that the arbitration was unfair.

Last week, Berman said if settlement talks in the case continue to be fruitless, he wants Brady and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in his court on Aug. 31. Berman indicated that his "current plan" is to try and have this case resolved before the start of the NFL season. Brady’s suspension would begin on Sept. 4 as of now.

On July 30, Berman implored both sides to “tone down their rhetoric” and “pursue a mutually acceptable resolution of this case.” With less than two weeks until kickoff, rhetoric is still heated, and no settlement agreement has been reached.

Via: Boston Herald

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Judge seeks Deflategate huddle

Attorneys for the NFL and Tom Brady want a federal judge to pick a winner in the ongoing Deflategate saga before the season begins in September — but that judge is urging both sides to come to a settlement.

Jeffrey Kessler, Brady’s union-appointed attorney, and lawyers for the NFL together asked U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman yesterday to issue a “final resolution” in the case before Sept. 4. The New England Patriots’ superstar quarterback wants the New York judge to set aside the four-game suspension handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“(T)he parties met and conferred and have agreed that a final resolution of this matter prior to the commencement of the 2015 NFL regular season would be in everyone’s best interest,” Kessler wrote in a letter to Berman.

Berman, meanwhile, asked the two sides to work together and come to a settlement, according to an order he filed later. He scheduled a “status/settlement conference” for Aug. 12 and another for Aug. 19. If no settlement is reached by the 19th, there could be oral arguments that day.

He wants Brady and Goodell on hand for both days. The Patriots will likely not have a full practice on Aug. 12, with the Packers coming to town for the preseason opener the next day. On Aug. 19, the Patriots are scheduled to be in West Virginia for joint workouts with the Saints.

“I request that you all engage in comprehensive, good-faith settlement discussions prior to the conference on August 12,” he wrote.

In the earlier letter, Kessler said he won’t be looking for an injunction that would allow Brady to play while the litigation panned out. Instead, he wants the entire case resolved so no legal proceedings linger throughout the season.

Brady’s lawyers also filed an answer and counterclaim in the lawsuit yesterday and attempted to poke holes in Goodell’s Tuesday decision. Kessler wrote that the arbitration proceedings had a “circus-like atmosphere.”

He argued that Goodell was a biased arbitrator and effectively served as judge, jury and executioner in Brady’s case. Brady’s attorneys noted that they tried to get Goodell to recuse himself in favor of an independent arbitrator, but he declined.

“It is hard to imagine any person in Goodell’s position even attempting to serve as arbitrator under these circumstances, but that is exactly what he did,” Kessler wrote. “He denied the NFLPA’s Recusal Motion and simultaneously (and summarily) rejected the delegation argument — trying to pave his own path to stay on as arbitrator of Brady’s appeal.

“This conduct shows not merely evident partiality but actual bias, rendering Goodell unfit to serve as arbitrator under any standard.”

Via: Boston Herald

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[SPORTS] Goodell, NFL Upholds Tom Brady’s 4-Game Suspension

BOSTON (CBS) — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has ruled on Tom Brady’s appeal, deciding to uphold his four-game suspension for his role in the DeflateGate scandal.

The league cited Brady’s unwillingness to cooperate with Ted Wells’ investigation, and the fact the quarterback ordered his cell phone destroyed during the investigation as the reason why they upheld the four-game ban.

It was reported earlier this month that the NFLPA will fight in federal court any suspension given to Brady, so now we await to hear if Brady wants to go that route.

Brady, backed by the NFLPA and outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, had filed the appeal of the four-game suspension issued by Goodell back in early May.

The 10-hour hearing was held Tuesday, June 23 at the NFL offices in New York City, with Goodell serving as the arbitrator.

Ted Wells, who was responsible for the 243-page investigative report which served as the basis for the punishment, was also present, as were Don Yee, Brady’s agent; Tom DePaso, NFLPA general counsel; Jeff Pash, NFL executive VP; Adolpho Birch, NFL senior VP of law and labor policy. According to Adam Schefter, Brady testified under oath during the hearing.

Brady reportedly put forth an “A-plus performance” during the hearing, with Brady coming off “as genuine, earnest and persuasive, addressing every issue raised in the league-sanctioned Wells report.” The NFL, however, quickly contested this notion.

The Wells report deemed it “more probable than not” that two Patriots employees conspired to lower the inflation level of footballs in the AFC Championship Game. The report then determined it “more probable than not” that Brady “was at least generally aware” of their actions.

The Patriots were penalized with the forfeiture of a first-round and fourth-round draft pick, as well as a $1 million fine. That was a punishment which team owner Robert Kraft initially disputed but eventually accepted.

“Although I might disagree with what is decided, I do have respect for the commissioner and believe that he’s doing what he perceives to be in the best interests of the full 32,” Kraft said in San Francisco in mid-May. “So in that spirit, I don’t want to continue the rhetoric that’s gone on for the last four months. I’m going to accept, reluctantly, what he has given to us and not continue this dialogue and rhetoric, and we won’t appeal.”

Yee was perhaps the most outspoken critic of the Wells report, and subsequently the four-game suspension issued to his client.

“The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis,” Yee said in May. “In my opinion, this outcome was predetermined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever.”

When Brady’s suspension was announced, the NFL worded it to imply that NFL executive VP Troy Vincent issued the punishment, with Goodell only “authorizing” the ruling. Goodell later forwarded this story when speaking at the owners’ meetings in San Francisco. Yet in Goodell’s letter to the NFLPA on June 2, Goodell claimed full responsibility for the issuance of the punishment.

“There can be no dispute that this is an appeal of Commissioner discipline,” Goodell wrote. “I did not delegate my disciplinary authority to Mr. Vincent; I concurred in his recommendation and authorized him to communicate to Mr. Brady the discipline imposed under my authority as Commissioner.”

Goodell told the media on May 20 that he looked forward to hearing “directly from Tom.”

“If there is new information or there’s information in helping us get  this right, I want to hear directly from Tom on that,” Goodell said.

The Patriots open their season on Thursday, Sept. 10 at Gillette Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Training camp opens this week, with the first team practice scheduled for Thursday, July 30.

Via: CBS Boston

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[VIDEO] "It was more than probable than not" NE Patriots deflategate.

Via: CBS News

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