[OMMENTARY] In Brady decision, the NFL still wins

Before a single down has been played, we have already witnessed the biggest upset of the National Football League's season.

Judge Richard Berman handed down a ruling in favor of Tom Brady, vacating the NFL's imposed 4-game suspension. Given the narrow scope of what this court was supposed to be ruling on, the NFL couldn't lose, right? Most pundits agreed. Until they didn't. 

Unlike most court rulings, however, this one will not bring much clarity to the situation. The average American will assume this means Brady is innocent. It does not: Judge Berman carefully sidestepped the central issue about whether the New England Patriots' quarterback was guilty. The real question is about process and procedure. 

Fairness or jealousy?

An appeal will be filed. Another judge will step in to evaluate if Judge Berman overstepped his bounds. 

Read More NFL says it will appeal judge's ruling that nullified Brady suspension

Why does the NFL care so passionately about this infraction? Why spend millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours devoted to football inflation? Because this case is not about determining a valid punishment for a specific offense, but rather a total condemnation of the Patriot Way.

I have spoken to several former NFL players, who both played for the Patriots and against them, and they tell stories that would blow your mind. The Patriots employ tactics that—in their words not mine—"totally cross the line."

Read More 'Deflategate': Sales of Tom Brady merchandise double

New England fans call it "jealousy." Fans of other teams call it "fairness."

Yes, the NFL lost (for now), but did it really?

This "scandal" has managed to keep the NFL as the main topic of TV shows, sports pages, blogs, sports talk radio, fantasy drafts and barroom chatter. Despite other sports having great playoff runs, and the U.S. women's soccer team winning a World Cup, the NFL has managed to own the off-season.

Again.

The ratings for the NFL opener between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers should set records. Nonetheless, the debate will persist regardless of the outcome. And the NFL's business will remain dominant.

In almost every aspect of its business, the NFL is an exacting institution. Control is its mantra. It controls who its broadcast partners are. Who its sponsors are. How long the deals are. How much they cost.

But there are two courts it does not control—the judicial court and the court of public opinion.

Even so, no matter how this saga ends, one thing is certain—the players will play, the fans will watch, and the NFL owners will count their money.

Commentary by David Katz, founder, CEO and principal editorial voice of ThePostGame, a sports culture and lifestyle media property based in Los Angeles and New York. He's the former head of CBS Interactive as well as Yahoo! Entertainment & Sports. Follow him on Twitter@katzmando

Via: CNBC

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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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Brennan: It's time I stopped calling team 'Redskins'

I can't tell you how many times I've said the words "Washington Redskins." At one point in my career, I probably used the term at least 50 times a day. I said it on television and radio. I wrote it in the newspaper. Over the years, I've used it thousands of times, probably more than 10,000 by now.

It's time I stopped.

I live in Washington, and for three years, from 1985-87, I was the Redskins beat writer for The Washington Post. Then, and even now, saying "Redskins" has always come naturally to me. That word has been a significant part of my life – my professional life anyway – and a very happy, proud, fulfilling part of it. In talking about the team, or my career, I've used the name so often that I've never given it a second thought.

The Q: Did Goodell soften stance on 'Redskins?'

CAMPAIGN: Indian tribe takes aim at Goodell, Snyder

But when I said the nickname this summer during a panel discussion, I stopped myself. For the first time, it didn't seem right to say it.

Why then? Why not last year? Or five years ago? Or when I covered the team? I think it was the cumulative effect of all the reporting on the issue in the past year or so, solid journalism that continually brings to the surface just how racist the term is to many in the Native American community. And even if only some Native Americans think it's racist, here's news for the rest of us, whether we want to hear it and deal with it or not: it's racist.

Via: USA Today

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