Tom Brady Appeal Hearing Gets Underway
The long-anticipated appeal hearing for Tom Brady‘s suspension gets underway this morning. Brady, commissioner Roger Goodell, and several other key players from the NFL and NFLPA arrived today in advance of the session, which was scheduled to begin at 9:30am eastern time.
Brady and the NFLPA will make the case that the quarterback’s four-game suspension should be reduced or eliminated altogether. However, as a league source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), if Brady says the same thing during his appeal hearing that he did to DeflateGate investigator Ted Wells, his ban won’t change.
Goodell, who appointed himself the arbitrator for the hearing, turned down an NFLPA request to recuse himself, in part because he wants to look Brady in the eye, as he put it. Of course, the former MVP’s comments won’t be the only factor in the union’s case — witnesses central to the AEI report that criticized the Wells report are expected to speak on behalf of the NFLPA.
Still, whereas the AEI report questioned the Wells report’s findings, Brady will have to prove his innocence to get his penalty reduced, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. As Tom Pelissero of USA Today observes (via Twitter), the key question for Brady will be whether he can explain the 57-minute conversation he had on the phone with Pats employee John Jastremski after the initial story broke following the AFC Championship game.
Although the appeal hearing is beginning today, there’s no guarantee it will last just one day, and even if it wraps up by this evening, a decision won’t come immediately. For comparison’s sake, Greg Hardy‘s appeal hearing for his 10-game suspension took place in late May, and arbitrator Harold Henderson has yet to announce his ruling, several weeks later.
Additionally, if Brady and the NFLPA don’t agree with the outcome of this appeal, it’s very possible – perhaps even likely – that they file a lawsuit and take the case to court, challenging Goodell’s involvement in the process. With about two and a half months until the regular season gets underway, the saga could conceivably stretch through the rest of the offseason.
Details Emerge On Tom Brady’s Appeal
Engulfed by lawyers, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell will face off Tuesday in the appeal summit regarding the quarterback’s four-game suspension the commissioner handed down in May for Brady’s role in Deflategate, and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe discusses how the sides will go about this procedure in New York.
One source informed Volin that Goodell only hears about 10% of these cases, and he delegated this responsibility for the recent appeals of Adrian Peterson, Josh Gordon and Greg Hardy. But with Brady serving as one of the faces of the league in the 21st century, Goodell will serve as the judge to determine whether his own judgment was justified.
Per Volin, around 12 people will be present in the meeting room: attorneys for both sides, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and Brady’s agent Don Yee will join the 16th-year quarterback and the 10th-year commissioner. Another source informed Volin that Goodell, while technically not on either side as the hearing officer in this setup, is “tame and usually fairly civil” in these circumstances. NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent and senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs Adolpho Birch could also be in the room.
“It’s kind of like a court of law, but it’s a private hearing; it’s confidential,” one source told Volin. “And the jury is Goodell.”
Goodell will ask questions during each presentation, reports Volin, but the NFL and the appealing contingent do not argue directly with each other despite the acrimony that’s transpired between representatives of each side during this historic offseason ordeal.
“There’s really no back-and-forth at the same time,” another source told Volin. “The appellant makes their case, then the league makes theirs, then the appellant gets to rebut it, then the league gets another chance, then both sides have closing arguments, and that’s pretty much it.”
While Brady obviously wants the entire suspension erased due to what he views is an exceedingly harsh punishment, one source told Volin the future Hall of Famer isn’t seeing any reduction, with the ban being “lenient” to begin with.
“He’s getting a suspension,” that source told Volin. “The only question is, is it four or two games?”
As previously noted, Brady’s side will have a chance to present new information in an attempt to reduce or eliminate his four-game ban, and Volin notes the Patriots quarterback’s team will cite the NFL’s operations manual which states a $25K fine is the baseline for a team that tampers with footballs (although Goodell has the jurisdiction to increase it as he sees fit). Volin also reports Brady’s side, in addition to possibly using the AEI report released last week that scrutinizes Ted Wells‘ investigation and potentially providing more information from Brady’s cellphone after he initially denied access to it, will use the fact that the Panthers and Vikings were issued only a warning for placing footballs near heaters during a December 2014 contest and Brett Favre being fined just $50K for a lack of cooperation in his 2010 scandal for improper text messaging.
The NFL will back Wells’ analysis and the ruling that Brady was “generally aware” of the alleged deflation procedures. Should the summit extend beyond Tuesday, it will resume Thursday, although there is no defined timeline for the decision to come down. Volin reports the Brady ruling may not emerge until the end of July, with Hardy’s May 28 appeal still in limbo as the latest example of the pace of these proceedings.
Brady, who can still file a federal lawsuit if this ruling doesn’t go his way, will lose $1.88MM if his four-game suspension is upheld.
AEI Report Critical Of Ted Wells Report
Kevin Hassett, Joseph Sullivan, and Stan Veuger are criticizing the findings of the Ted Wells Report on deflated footballs in New England. The three authors’ work has been published on the website of the American Enterprise Institute–AEI. The New York Times also summarized this new report for their audience.
This report is timely, coming a little more than a week ahead of Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing. It could become more ammunition that exonerates Brady and the Patriots of wrongdoing, or at least generate enough doubt to help get his suspension reduced or eliminated, according to CSNNE.com.
AEI, which notably claims to have no financial stake in the findings our outcome, describes the original findings of Ted Wells to be unreliable. Among aspects of the case it calls into question, it rejects the idea that the Patriots’ footballs had a more significant drop in air pressure than did the Colts’ footballs in the first half of the AFC Championship game.
The new report also calls into question the process in which officials tested the footballs, saying that only four Colts’ football were tested at halftime as opposed to 11 of the Patriots’ footballs, and raises questions about the environments they were each tested in and the amount of gauges used before re-inflating them.
CSNNE.com notes that the AEI report on player injuries data on the heels of Bountygate helped a number of Saints’ players have their suspensions vacated in 2012, and hopes that Brady will be able to use this new information to his advantage when he meets with Commissioner Roger Goodell on June 23rd.
North Notes: Lions, Flacco, A. Brown
Special teams standout Brad Smith, who has played all over the field in his NFL career, will pay a visit to the Lions on Tuesday, reports Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. While Smith has seen time at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver during his NFL career, and was a very productive kick returner a few years ago, his primary contributions at this point in his career will come in kick and punt coverage.
Meanwhile, a Lions free agent, defensive tackle C.J. Mosley, is visiting an unknown team today, per Birkett. There were conflicting reports last week on whether Detroit has interest in re-signing Mosley, and Birkett notes that while the Lions have engaged with the defensive lineman about a possible return, no agreement is imminent.
Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:
- Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco would like to play in the NFL until he’s at least 40 years old, as he tells Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. Of course, we should probably take Flacco’s comments with a grain of salt at this point, considering he just turned 30 earlier this year.
- While the Steelers may not adjust Antonio Brown‘s contract this year, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, with the help of former NFL salary cap analyst J.I. Halsell, attempts to identify a potential extension scenario that could work for both sides.
- Judge David Doty will hear the NFLPA’s motion to hold Roger Goodell in contempt of court in the Adrian Peterson case on August 13, tweets Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. Doty ruled in favor of the NFLPA back in February, granting the union’s motion to overturn the league’s decision on Peterson’s suspension, but the NFL didn’t reinstate the Vikings running back until mid-April.
- Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun passes along word of a couple auditions taking place this week, reporting (via Twitter) that center/guard Ben Gottschalk is trying out for the Packers today and former Hawaii defensive end Beau Yap is working out for the Bengals tomorrow.
Goodell Won’t Recuse Himself From Brady Appeal
JUNE 2, 1:33pm: Goodell has now made it official, informing the NFLPA that he’ll hear Brady’s appeal, and won’t recuse himself, per Garafolo (Twitter links). The commissioner insists that his “mind is open” on the case, and he hasn’t pre-judged Brady.
MAY 22, 4:01pm: Despite several other writers confirming La Canfora’s report, NFLPA spokesman Greg Aiello says no final decision has been made on the union’s request for Goodell to recuse himself, tweets Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports. La Canfora tweets that while technically Goodell himself didn’t reject the NFLPA’s request, NFL lawyers filed papers saying their position is that the commissioner will hear Brady’s appeal.
3:15pm: The NFL has denied the NFL Players Association’s request for commissioner Roger Goodell to recuse himself from the union’s appeal of Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
Following the NFLPA’s announcements that it had officially filed an appeal on behalf of Brady, Goodell appointed himself as the arbitrator in the case. The union felt this was a conflict of interest, particularly since the NFLPA’s counsel intended to call the commissioner as a witness during the appeal process. However, it never appeared likely that Goodell would assent to the union’s request to remove himself from the process, since the league’s CBA allows him to serve as the arbitrator.
As La Canfora observes (via Twitter), Goodell staying on as arbitrator in Brady’s appeal makes it more likely that the case will eventually go to court, unless of course the commissioner overturns the suspension. Goodell strongly hinted at the conclusion of this week’s owner’s meetings in San Francisco that the only thing that would make him reconsider the four-game ban handed down by Troy Vincent would be if Brady brings forth new information on the case — in other words, if he surrenders his emails and text messages.
No date has been set yet for Brady’s appeal hearing.
Goodell Talks Brady, Pats, Oakland, L.A.
At the conclusion of this week’s NFL meetings in San Francisco, commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the media, and while he took questions from reporters, he – unsurprisingly – didn’t drop any bombshells. Still, Goodell shed at least a little light on a few topics, so let’s check out a few highlights from the commissioner’s presser:
- As Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports details, Goodell strongly hinted that Tom Brady‘s best chance at reducing his four-game suspension would involve the quarterback handing over text messages and emails that he didn’t initially surrender to Ted Wells. Goodell was also asked directly if Robert Kraft‘s decision not to appeal the Patriots‘ penalties would factor into Brady’s appeal, and replied with one word: “No.”
- Contradicting a report from earlier this week, Goodell said that the NFL didn’t ask the Patriots to suspend the two staffers – Jim McNally and John Jastremski – who starred in the Wells Report (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
- Asked about discussions with St. Louis, San Diego, and Oakland about stadium plans, Goodell noted that he had yet to hear from Oakland about a plan for the Raiders. While he didn’t go so far as to call it frustrating, the lack of a proposal has “clearly irked” Goodell, writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Goodell on the Oakland situation: “We don’t have a deadline, but this is not a new issue that we’re all dealing with here. This is something that the Raiders have been working on a stadium for years. This is something that’s been very publicly debated. So we do need to have a proposal from the people here about how they’re going to be able to keep the raiders here in Oakland.”
- Colts owner Jim Irsay said today that it’s just a matter of “when” – not “if” – a team relocates to Los Angeles, but Goodell cautioned that a return to L.A. isn’t “inevitable,” per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “There is certainly momentum, there are certainly opportunities,” Goodell said. “I can’t remember the last time we had two facilities that are actually entitled and are being developed. That’s a very positive development, and in fact there are actually even two more sites that have been entitled, but the two that we’re focusing on are obviously the Carson site and the Inglewood site. I think those are positive developments, but a lot more work has to be done.”
NFLPA Files Motion Against Goodell In Peterson Case
The NFLPA is gearing up to fight two massive battles against the league. The union announced on Tuesday that it has filed a motion in Federal Court in the Adrian Peterson matter to hold the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell in contempt of court. The strongly worded statement from NFLPA president Eric Winston is below, in its entirety:
“Today, the players filed a motion in Federal Court in the Adrian Peterson matter because the Commissioner and NFL have deliberately ignored both the Court’s decision from eleven weeks ago and our repeated requests to comply with that order.
On February 26th, the NFL was ordered to change their decision in the Peterson matter and reissue a ruling consistent with our collective bargaining agreement. The Union made multiple requests to the League office asking the arbitrator, who serves at the direction of the Commissioner, to comply with the law and avoid further litigation. Despite our attempts, they have done nothing and leave us no choice but to seek this motion.
The delay tactics, inconsistencies and arbitrary decision making of the League has continued to hurt the rights of players, the credibility of the League office and the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the absence of any action by the NFL’s governing board of owners, the players have acted to hold the NFL accountable to our players, the CBA and to the law.”
According to the NFLPA’s court filing, attorney Jeffrey Kessler contacted Harold Henderson and NFL counsel and warned them of a possible contempt motion, Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports tweets. League counsel Dan Nash, according to the NFLPA, insisted that Henderson delay any ruling until the 8th Circuit court rules on the appeal, which will take months (link).
The union also goes after the NFL for acting in defiance of court orders by retroactively applying the new personal conduct policy to Greg Hardy (link). If the NFLPA can win this battle regarding Peterson, it could go a long way towards potentially reducing Hardy’s suspension.
NFLPA Moves To Recuse Goodell From Brady Appeal
The NFLPA announced that it has formally requested that commissioner Roger Goodell recuse himself as the arbitrator in Tom Brady‘s disciplinary appeal. The statement reads:
“Given a process that has contained procedural violations of our collective bargaining agreement, the Commissioner’s role as a central witness in the appeal hearing and his evident partiality with respect to the Wells report, the Commissioner must designate a neutral party to serve as an arbitrator in this matter. The players also believe that the Commissioner’s history of inconsistently issuing discipline against our players makes him ill-suited to hear this appeal in a fair-minded manner. If the NFL believes the Ted Wells report has credibility because it is independent, then the NFL should embrace our request for an independent review.”
The demand has been formally made by the union, but don’t expect the commissioner to cave. Indications leading up to the meetings continue to be that Goodell won’t step aside as he wants to talk to Brady himself, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets.
Extra Points: Deflategate, CBA, Tebow
We heard earlier that Tom Brady‘s suspension may not in fact be reduced, but the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin cites some inconsistencies that need justification from Ted Wells as the Deflategate saga continues to gain depth.
The main issue Volin takes with Wells is why he charged the Patriots with not cooperating with his investigation fully. Specifically, the Boston reporter points out Wells had the “deflator” text from Jim McNally in his possession before meeting with him, but his team did not find it until after McNally’s deposition because the text was from May 2014.
The Patriots refused to make McNally available again due to the apparent lack of due diligence from Wells’ team, citing a February email from team attorney Daniel Goldberg to Wells that stated barring “unanticipated circumstances” there would be no second interviews with subjects.
“You refused to give me the information I requested except to say that the topic was ‘new,’ ” Goldberg wrote in an email to Wells on March 9 that the Patriots released Sunday regarding Wells’ request for a second summit with McNally. “It turned out, however, that the topic involved asking about texts that you had before his prior interview — so it was not something that arose from extraordinary or unanticipated circumstances, but was apparently just something you neglected to pursue in his earlier interview.”
Volin requested Wells’ end of the email chain from the NFL but did not receive those before publishing this story.
More from around the league on Sunday night …
- Roger Goodell‘s ability to hear Brady’s appeal is not a power he’s unearthed from nowhere. The provision of safeguarding the game’s integrity has been present since the first CBA in 1968, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. This provided then-commissioner Pete Rozelle power to impose discipline and designate the hearing officer for any appeals regarding issues of conduct detrimental to the “integrity of the game.”
- Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are not discussing a fully guaranteed contract, writes Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. Condotta adds that, while the amount of guaranteed money will play a key role in this extension, teams must provide the full amount of the fully guaranteed deal up front. The player doesn’t receive it all then, but the amount must be accounted for — similar to Ndamukong Suh‘s deal with the Dolphins this year, with some of the money being placed in an escrow account for future payment — to prevent teams from not following through on financial promises.
- Tim Tebow‘s odds of making an impact with the Eagles appear slim as of now, but Zach Berman of Philly.com writes the 6-foot-3, 236-pound quarterback could be of use should the Eagles’ extra point proposal, which would place two-point conversions at the 1-yard line, pass this week at the NFL owners’ meetings. Although the Eagles didn’t attempt a two-point play last year, they went 3-for-8 in 2013. Tebow’s scored from the 1-yard line in each of his three attempts and converted first downs on six of eight 1-yard-to-go scenarios in his last starting role in 2011. Berman also adds the Eagles’ preference for DeMarco Murray‘s north-south running style will help here, with Murray’s six 1-yard scores leading the league last season. So a lot could be riding on this week’s proposal in Philadelphia.
- Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt is “pretty much up to full speed” after sustaining a torn pectoral muscle last season, writes Minneapolis Star-Tribune columnist Sid Hartman. Brandon Fusco is not quite as far along after tearing a pectoral muscle, according to Mike Zimmer. With Charlie Johnson, a four-year starter on Minnesota’s front at either left tackle or left guard, still an unrestricted free agent, the Vikings are contemplating a reshuffle to fill the gaps. A starting right guard for two full seasons and three games into last year before suffering the chest injury, Fusco could potentially move to left guard, and rookie tackle T.J. Clemmings could begin his career by lining up at right guard.
- The Chargers will not keep any of the 15 tryout players they brought in, Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (on Twitter).
- Adrian Robinson, a former NFL linebacker and recent CFL cog, died Saturday night at the age of 25, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. The cause of death was unknown. Robinson played for the Steelers, Broncos, Chargers and Washington from 2012-13 and was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Latest On Tom Brady’s Appeal, DeflateGate
The NFL Players Association has officially published the appeal letter it sent to the NFL on behalf of Tom Brady, making it available through the union’s website. Within the letter, the NFLPA argues that the league violated the CBA by allowing league executive Troy Vincent to hand a four-game suspension to Brady, since he is not authorized to impose discipline. The union added that it plans to call Vincent and commissioner Roger Goodell as witnesses for its appeal, which means – according to the NFLPA – the case should be arbitrated by someone without close ties to the NFL.
As we prepare for the next stage of this contentious process, let’s round up the latest items on DeflateGate and Brady’s appeal….
- Goodell will likely interview suspended Patriots employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally as witnesses for Brady’s appeal, per Ed Werder of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- After Ted Wells was given a blank check and no deadline for his DeflateGate report by Goodell and the league, it will be difficult for the commissioner to disregard that report and conclude that its conclusions are inaccurate, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio points out that Goodell may have appointed himself as the arbitrator in this case because it avoids putting the league in a position where another arbitrator “overturns or undermines” the Wells report, embarrassing the NFL.
- Speaking of Wells, his statements to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post (Twitter links) about the timeline of his investigation contradict information in the report itself, as Florio explains in a separate PFT piece.
- Goodell’s decision to hear Brady’s appeal himself “virtually assures” that it will wind up as a court case, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Florio tweets that a lawsuit will likely be filed soon in an effort to get Goodell to step aside as arbitrator.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe breaks down the Patriots’ rebuttal to the Wells report, writing that it makes some good points but falls short in answering a few crucial questions.