The NFLPA's appeal letter

[Fencer]

https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/PDFs/Media Resources/Brady_Appeal_Letter.pdf

Game on.

 

[Rock Strongo]

https://nflpaweb.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/PDFs/Media Resources/Brady_Appeal_Letter.pdf

Game on.

turn it up...bring the noise.

 

[Rock Strongo]

First, as both Mr. Brady’s discipline letter and the NFL’s public statements make clear, you were tasked by Commissioner Goodell to determine whether Mr. Brady should be subject to discipline for conduct detrimental in connection with the events described in the Wells Report (the “Report”), and if so, to decide and impose the discipline. And, you have, in fact, imposed Mr. Brady’s discipline pursuant to the Commissioner’s purported delegation of his authority. Any such delegation is a plain violation of the CBA.

 

[Rock Strongo]

yeah, this is gonna be funny.

 

[HammerDown]

yeah, this is gonna be funny.

Funny? Or sad?

 

[Rock Strongo]

Funny? Or sad?

i said, funny!

 

[HammerDown]

At this moment there's a semen-stained copy of the appeals letter in Rock's cubicle.

 

[MISKO]

its gonna be funny to see all of the broken hearts of pat fans when the discipline is upheld

 

[Rock Strongo]

At this moment there's a semen-stained copy of the appeals letter in Rock's cubicle.

the paper cuts...they hurt.

 

[WizardHawk]

Didn't see anything scathing in that letter. So they point out they don't believe Vincent had the authority to hand down the punishment. Yeah? And?

They said they think it was too harsh and should have originally came from Goodell himself and will challenge his impartiality if he wants to go forward with hearing the appeal himself.

Standard stuff really. Did anyone expect the NFLPA to rubber stamp everything and simply sign off on it all?

They want the opportunity to inquire if this was all a setup? Good luck proving it even if it was. Given how everyone complains about how long investigations by the NFL actually take, there is no way they can create a case that says they already knew of guilt here and set them up to fail. At best they were looking into it and were going to pay more attention to the possibility. That's not setting people up.

Just business as usual for lawyers. Make threats back and forth and try to scare the other side into blinking and giving you what you want.

Not going to change the outcome. Brady will get 2 games and some of the team penalty will likely be reduced. This was going to happen no matter what threats they make.

 

[Fencer]

Not going to change the outcome. Brady will get 2 games and some of the team penalty will likely be reduced. This was going to happen no matter what threats they make.

I basically agree.

What you left out is that this is part of the paper trail for the court case. And of course Goodell has recently been a titan in such cases -- a Tennessee Titan.

 

[MISKO]

gohell really doesn't lessen his punishments when he presides over the appeal.. so Tommy will still probably have 4 games off

 

[WizardHawk]

I basically agree.

What you left out is that this is part of the paper trail for the court case. And of course Goodell has recently been a titan in such cases -- a Tennessee Titan.

Well at least we are on some common ground for a change.

This stopped being about real guilty or innocent some time ago. It is about how much did they actually prove and did the punishment meet that level of proof? Ultimately I think it was more than a bit too much, but more the team stuff. 2 draft picks for not making McNally available?

If they had just put in for 2 games and a fine for the team, would there have been as much of a reaction?

 

[Fencer]

If they had just put in for 2 games and a fine for the team, would there have been as much of a reaction?

Not as much, of course. Kraft would have paid his fine. But Brady would still have appealed to get the suspension down to zero.

 

[MISKO]

Not as much, of course. Kraft would have paid his fine. But Brady would still have appealed to get the suspension down to zero.

appealing is s.o.p for any union

 

[WizardHawk]

Not as much, of course. Kraft would have paid his fine. But Brady would still have appealed to get the suspension down to zero.

Well of course, which is why I believe it was at 4.

They know it's a circumstantial case in terms of proving that Brady knew the balls were being deflated, or even that they were in fact done so on purpose. That's why he wasn't even punished for that act. What they have is his 'lying' and not cooperating. Set it to 4 and given the murky situation on the rest of it, have enough room to drop it to 2 as an appeasement.

 

[Fencer]

appealing is s.o.p for any union

Possibly the first post of yours on this whole subject I've agreed with.

 

[MISKO]

Possibly the first post of yours on this whole subject I've agreed with.

well i guess im doing better than you then cause I havent agreed with anything that you have said on the subject either ..

 

[Rock Strongo]

patriots - Point of no return: As tensions escalate, Patriots, NFL prep for showdown on Deflategate - WEEI | Christopher Price


POINT OF NO RETURN: AS TENSIONS ESCALATE, PATRIOTS, NFL PREP FOR SHOWDOWN ON DEFLATEGATE
Fri, 05/15/2015 - 12:38am

It appears there's an ultimate showdown brewing between Roger Goodell and the NFL and Robert Kraft and the Patriots. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

So where do we go from here?


What’s next? Pistols at dawn? Toss Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell into a cage and have them fight it out, Thunderdome-style? (Two men enter, one man leaves!) Right now, if you put them into the octagon and sold the pay-per-view rights, you’d have a better return on your investment than Mayweather-Pacquiao. The Battle for Brady!

Because if the showdown between the commissioner and the Patriots wasn’t already locked in, it’s certainly on now. Two days after Ted Wells made the rare move of not only defending his report on Deflategate but also ratcheting up the rhetoric in a conference call with the media, the Patriots had their say. And in what is starting to look more and more like a high-stakes game of chicken between the two sides, Thursday delivered a whole new level of drama.

First, New England replied to the Wells Report with a two-fisted delivery that signaled that this whole sordid mess is just beginning. The team issued a 20,000-word report of its own that listed -- in detail, and point by point -- its issues with the league and the investigation spearheaded by Wells. While there was some stuff in that that read like something straight out of a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, there was enough contained within the bulk of the report that could certainly raise some questions, including the fact that there remains no singular smoking gun anywhere in the whole 243-page document that had Brady telling James McNally and John Jastremski to underinflate the footballs outside of the legal psi window.

Then, on Thursday afternoon, the real hammer came in the form of the appeal from the NFLPA on behalf of the quarterback. Let’s be completely clear -- the decision to file the appeal wasn’t a surprise. But given the fact that the players association has never been shy about going to the mattresses on behalf of a player certainly heightens the level of intrigue, and means that this whole tractor pull of a legal fight could very well stretch out through the rest of the spring and into the summer.

Frankly, If I’m sitting in the league offices on Park Avenue, I’m more concerned with the brief 79-word statement from the NFLPA than I am with the 19,318-word report from the Patriots for a few reasons, not the least of which is the fact that the one from the NFLPA contained no references to “Dorito Dink” or tried to come up with a clumsy excuse to explain away the “Deflator” nickname. The statement from the players association -- which might as well have been followed with a “dun-dun-DUN” musical exclamation -- read in part:

Given the NFL’s history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters, it is only fair that a neutral arbitrator hear this appeal. If Ted Wells and the NFL believe, as their public comments stated, that the evidence in their report is 'direct' and 'inculpatory,' then they should be confident enough to present their case before someone who is truly independent.

The topper came late Thursday night, when it was revealed that Goodell himself will be the one to hear the appeal. While the whole thing had a distinct WWE-style vibe, for what it’s worth, it’s a legal maneuver that was made possible by the most recent collective bargaining agreement. While the incredibly high-profile nature of the case made it likely that Goodell had to be involved in some form or fashion, the decision to name himself as the arbitrator in this case probably means that Brady will end up sitting for all four games, but he will have a chance to win his belt back from Mike Kensil at Summerslam.

OK, so I may have made up that last part. Regardless, that will almost certainly set the stage for legal action on the part of the quarterback. If you’re a Patriots fan, you certainly can take some solace in the fact that Brady has retained Jeffrey Kessler, who could ultimately go down as one of the best free agent acquisitions in franchise history. (Lose a shutdown corner, gain a shutdown lawyer. Call it a wash.) He’s a man who gets things done -- the Winston Wolf for any aggrieved player seeking satisfaction following a legal disagreement with the league. Just ask Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and thefour players from the Saints who had their sanctions erased because of his work.

So let’s do this: Get Goodell and Kraft to a weigh-in, set a date and call up Jamie Foxx for the national anthem. (On second thought, scratch that.) We’re still two-plus months from the start of training camp and four months from the start of the regular season, but for Brady, Kraft and the rest of the Patriots, this battle represents the first real test of 2015. How they fare this time around figures to set the tone for the long grind ahead.

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I wonder which player's union had more distaste for their appeal filing: the NFL's for Brady-gate, or MLBPA for the A-rod suspension?