I hate the NFL, but this decision is wrong IMHO: Brady beats NFL: Federal judge tosses 4-game suspension in 'Deflategate' | Fox News
I hate the Pats more than anyone else on the site, but it serves the NFL right for mismanaging the situation as badly as they did.
I read the entire opinion. The judge found for Brady and the union because: There was no specific notice beforehand that suspension would be imposed for ball deflation. The NFL justified the four game suspension based on steroid abuse policy which is clearly stated beforehand. NFL could not prove that ball deflation was the same or similar to steroid use. Brady and the union were not allowed to inspect all records, nor were they allowed to cross examine the NFL paid investigator. The NFL did not prove Brady deflated the balls or was aware that the balls were deflated...which is actually moot due to the points made above. These are the main points as I understand them. The NFL will appeal.
These are only some points as Judge Berman's 40 page ruling is online. Even more troubling about Goodell and the NFL is that somehow they think they are above the law and process. Goodell accuses Brady for being uncooperative (even though Wells states he was) and the most alarming thing is that Brady and the union were denied access to the NFL's witness and their notes. Judge Berman not only made note of this but called out the NFL several times in court previously for their practices. Judge Berman was further baffled that there was zero evidence, proof of any conspiracy or wrong doing. He encouraged many times for both sides to settle and in both sessions laid out all of the NFL's flaws in the case. Yet somehow Goodell's ego did not allow that. Had he done so, the judge would not have to rule as he did. Now after wasting months of the fans time, millions of taxpayer money and the NFL owners monies, he has the balls to appeal to a smaller court. Proving that a US Supreme Court judge was incorrect is now Goodell's uphill battle, all in the name of ego. Good luck with that and I can only hope this is the last we have seen of his erroneous practices!
And the enforceable nature of a collective bargaining agreement. Judge Berman is a U.S. District Judge, not a U.S. Supreme court Justice. Still a daunting task for sure, be he's not trying to get one of the SCOTUS justices reversed. I'm a little surprised at this. Collective bargaining is a foundation of union representation. I suspect if this ruling stands, the owners will move to have the entire collective bargaining agreement tossed in the next round of negotiations with the union. Imagine the surprised look on the faces of the union guys when the owners tell them they're locked out, and the CBA is in the garbage can. D
The judge didn't exonerate him from cheating. He just said the NFL handled this all wrong. Eli remains the only man alive that can beat Brady.
NFL never even remotely proved that Brady was involved, let alone guilty. History dictates that if Brady cheated, he should have been fined, and we couldve all been spared of this endless nonsense
Some funny posts that bloggers posted : "Brady deflated Goodell's ego" "If the NFL wanted to win it's case against Brady, they should have brought the NY Giants to help them"
A fine isn't enough. We are talking about the integrity of the game (which ironically no longer has any), a suspension of some sort was a must.
This whole thing is dumb. So Brady deflated a few footballs. He's not the first and he won't be the last. Other quarterbacks came out and said they did the same thing, nobody cared. It would have been better for Brady if he had just beaten the crap out of Giselle. It would have been swept under the rug with nary a peep.
The NFL rules state fine. Goodell essentially making up his own rules and issuing a suspension without making players and union aware is not only unethical, immoral, a violation but mocks integrity. The judge pointed this out. Goodell uses the word integrity, yet was found by the judge to be exactly lacking that. By not making a key witness available for questioning for the union during its appeal and withholding notes from the defense is ironically what Judge Berman found to be uncooperative. Read Judge Berman's 40 page ruling, the way Goodell, Wells and the NFL conducted themselves is short of laughable. Goodell continues to do what he does best, lose.
As a Pats fan since they were the Boston Patriots even I believe Tom wanted the balls on the soft side. Other players have doctored/tampered with balls and they get fined. Other players spray cooking oil on their jerseys or put stickup on their gloves and they get fined. Other teams pump artificial noise into the stadium while their opponents are on offense (talk about integrity of the game) and get fined. We play with balls below 12.5 psi and the Patriots and Tom get electrocuted. That's why the judge said it was fundamentally unfair.
