Brady not expected at hearing

Patriots QB plans to practice instead

Tom Brady was in New York for settlement talks Tuesday that yielded no progress, so the New England Patriots star quarterback changed his mind and doesn’t plan to attend Wednesday’s federal court hearing, two people with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

Brady missed Tuesday’s practice in Foxborough, Mass., because he was attending the latest settlement talks between his attorneys and the NFL’s with a magistrate as ordered by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the case publicly.

But with little chance of a settlement in the Deflategate case, Brady is expected to skip Wednesday’s hearing before Berman and practice with his teammates in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., where they’re scheduled to hold the first of two joint sessions with the New Orleans Saints at The Greenbrier.

The NFL had no comment on whether Commissioner Roger Goodell, who authorized Brady’s four-game suspension in May and upheld the discipline last month, would attend Wednesday.

Berman told the sides last week that it wasn’t necessary for Brady or Goodell to attend.

Both were at the first hearing last week on the lawsuit filed by the NFL, which is seeking confirmation of Goodell’s decision, arguing the commissioner acted within the scope of his authority to protect the integrity of the game. The NFL Players Association, citing a lack of notice, insufficient procedures, a fundamentally unfair process and Goodell’s partiality, wants the decision vacated.

One hang-up in the talks has been the league’s insistence that Brady accept the findings of the NFL-commissioned Wells Report, which found it more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the actions by team employees that led to balls used by the Patriots being deflated below permissible levels in the AFC Championship Game.

Goodell upheld the quarterback’s suspension, ruling Brady participated in the scheme, based in part on his assessment of Brady’s credibility, which Goodell made clear was impacted by Brady’s admission he gave his cellphone to an assistant for disposal on or around the date of a March interview with Wells.

Brady, 38, has steadfastly denied any involvement.