ROGER FINDS IT APPEALING
Maintains that he’ll hear Brady case
Roger Goodell says he will approach Tom Brady’s appeal of his Deflate Gate suspension with an open mind, with no prejudgment or bias, after rejecting the NFL Players Association’s request that the commissioner recuse himself as the appeals officer.
Can this be done? The league paid millions for the Wells Report, and Goodell authorized Brady’s four-game suspension. Goodell promises to be impartial on June 23, even though if he backs down in any way it would mean overruling himself.
Although Goodell admitted in a letter to the NFLPA on Tuesday, in which he said he will exercise his right in the collective bargaining agreement to hear the case, that he has “publicly expressed my appreciation to Mr. Wells and his colleagues for their thorough an independent work,” he said, “that does not mean that I am wedded to their conclusions or to their assessment of the facts.”
In other words, if Brady executes his attack on the Wells Report as well he has executed in winning four Super Bowls, Goodell is indicating he has a chance to get his suspension reduced or vacated. Brady is going to have to be forthcoming, compelling and convincing.
Goodell said praising the Wells Report doesn’t mean that “after considering the evidence and argument presented during the appeal, I may not reach a different conclusion about Mr. Brady’s conduct or the discipline imposed. That is true even though the initial discipline decision was reached after extensive discussion and in reliance on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game. As I have said publicly, I very much look forward to hearing from Mr. Brady and to considering any new information or evidence that he may bring to my attention.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft threw in the towel two weeks ago and accepted the $1 million fine and loss of a first-round pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017. Although that was not done in direct exchange for Goodell reducing Brady’s punishment, it certainly could turn out that way. Kraft’s decision to not appeal the team’s punishment was a vote of confidence for Goodell by one of the league’s most influential owners. Now Goodell could reciprocate by taking care of the league’s most important player, who he also happens to like a lot.
Article 46 of the CBA gives Goodell the power to hear appeals on issues involving conduct detrimental to the integrity of the game. “Because protecting the integrity of the game is the commissioner’s most important responsibility, I decline to rewrite our Collective Bargaining Agreement to abrogate my authority and discretion to hear any ideal in a conduct detrimental proceeding,” he said in the letter to the union.
Goodell dismissed all the union’s contentions that he should step aside from hearing the case. He appointed an independent arbitrator in the Ray Rice case because he was a central witness. He rejected the NFLPA’s claim that he was a necessary or central witness in the Brady case because, “I do not have any first-hand knowledge of any of the events at issue . . . nor did I play a role in the investigation that led to Mr. Brady’s discipline.”
He also rejected the NFLPA’s argument that he should recuse himself, because Brady’s discipline letter was signed by Troy Vincent, the executive VP of football operations, and not by him. “The signatory’s identity does not influence in any way my evaluation of the issues; any suggestion to the contrary defies common sense,” Goodell wrote.
If Goodell’s ruling on the appeal doesn’t satisfy Brady, he could take the matter to court and try to gain an injunction to put the suspension on hold until the case is heard. If Goodell reduces Brady’s suspension to two games, Kraft could attempt to convince Brady to accept it for the good of the Patriots without admitting any involvement in how the footballs became deflated in the AFC title game against the Colts. When Kraft accepted the Patriots’ punishment, he continued to maintain that the team did nothing wrong.