Tom Brady’s Appeal Finally Ends, What Next?
By DJ Smith
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As I type this Tom Brady, Roger Goodell and several dozens of their representatives were bunkered somewhere inside the NFL headquarters in New York for eleven hours, still hashing out the appeal of Tom Brady’s 4 game suspension. (Editors note: As of 8:45pm, the appeal had concluded).
From a national perspective, it seems like the perception of Brady’s guilt in DeflateGate has wavered since the announcement of his 4 game suspension. While fans in the 5 ½ New England states have stood by the Patriots quarterback, it seems like the public has taken the time to dissect the Wells Report as well as other studies done that prove that DeflateGate was yet another fumble by the NFL.
The NFL thought that they could finally do something right in terms of proper discipline with DeflateGate, especially after failing time after time in the past. Examples of past failures include the Ray Rice suspension in 2014 as well as the Adrian Peterson case (that is still ongoing in Federal Courts), and the Ndamukong Suh (non) suspension.
Goodell and the NFL thought they could kill two birds with one stone by restoring their image as the law and order in the NFL but also catching one of the most captivating franchises in sports.
Since that fateful January night where the Patriots crushed the Colts to move on to Super Bowl 49, they have been the targets of the NFL. By hiring Ted Wells the NFL thought they could prove that the Patriots, who are amongst the most successful yet most controversial team in the 21st century, were once again cheaters.
But all the Wells Report could generate was some generalizations and ‘More Probable Than Not’s”, not enough to fully implicate the Patriots of quarterback Tom Brady. However NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saw things quite differently, handing down harsh punishments to the team and Brady including that 4 game suspension.
So here we are, Brady’s appeal has been heard and dismissed all we are waiting for is Roger Goodell to make his final ruling. If I had to put this month’s rent on it, I’d say that he reduces Brady’s suspension from 4 games to 2 games. He’ll try to justify it saying that the evidence presented warrants a reduction of games, but because he did not give up his cell phone during the Wells Investigation he will be penalized.
Now if I’m Tom Brady and that ruling is made, I’m saying “Thanks, but no thanks Roger. See you in court.”
Frankly if Roger Goodell suspends Brady for any length of time I believe he should take it to court, because numerous studies including a study by AEI discredits the Wells Report completely.
By taking Roger Goodell to court, Brady not only justifies his claim that he is innocent but it gives him a legitimate chance to take the field for Week 1 in September.
According to multiple interviews done by Sports Illustrated’s legal analyst Michael McCann, if Brady takes the NFL to court its possible that it could linger into the later half of 2015, which obviously would allow Brady to start Opening Night.
But for now, we all sit and wait for Pontius Goodell….I mean Roger Goodell to make his ruling and depending on which way he decides could lead to yet another battle for the NFL.
I hope I’m wrong and Goodell reverses the 4 game suspension, but I don’t see Goodell wiping out the entire suspension based off his previous decisions. He’s looked bad in the past disciplinary hearings that he’s handled, I just don’t see him taking yet another hit to his credibility as a commissioner.
Get your popcorn ready, folks. This isn’t over by a long shot.