Goodell not backing down, says report
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE Richard Berman has been encouraging the NFL and the players union to reach a settlement on Tom Brady’s suspension dispute, but Roger Goodell doesn’t sound like a man willing to settle.
The NFL commissioner, who handed the Patriots quarterback a four-game suspension for his alleged role in DeflateGate and upheld the suspension after an appeal, defended his decision in an interview with The Repository in Canton, Ohio on Saturday.
“The integrity of the game is the most important thing,” Goodell told the newspaper at the Hall of Fame, in his first public comments since upholding the suspension. “The integrity of the game is something we will always protect. The rules apply to everybody. That is my job in particular, to make sure everyone from our players to our coaches, to our fans and our partners, that they all recognize we’re going to play by these sets of rules, and that’s part of our values and standards.”
Brady was under oath during his 10-hour appeal at the NFL offices on June 23 when he denied having any knowledge of deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game, according to the transcript of his arbitration hearing, which was made public Tuesday.
Brady and Goodell are set to meet face to face on Wednesday for an official settlement conference ordered by Berman.
“Listen, he’s a great player and he’s a great young man,” Goodell said of Brady. “We issued the decision just last week. We’re in the midst of litigation to ... ensure that that’s enforced the way we ruled on that, after a long process that is established in our collective bargaining agreement. That’s something we’ll play through.”
On Thursday, former Packers general manager Ron Wolf told Goodell in a comment picked up on television, “Way to go on that Brady thing,” which drew laughter from Goodell.
The context of the comment was uncertain, but Wolf clarified to ESPN that he wasn’t being sarcastic.
“I wasn’t trying to be a wise guy,” Wolf said. “I realize he has a real tough job. It was just a passing moment, and obviously, it was picked up on a microphone. I basically meant, ‘Congrats on making a decision.’ That’s why the owners are paying him all that money.”