Life in the NFL
- Akhilesh Samant
- Dec 8, 2015
- 2 min read
With the New England Patriots currently sitting atop their division at 9-0, it’s important to remember that, just a few months ago, the team was in dire straits as superstar quarterback Tom Brady was set to serve a four game suspension for his role in “Deflategate.” After months of arbitration and appeals, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman vacated Roger Goodell’s decision to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension.” So why exactly is Brady off the hook?
Much of Berman’s issue with the NFL’s case lies with the glaring errors in the way the investigation and arbitration were conducted. These errors include: providing a poor explanation to Brady of the rules he violated, denying the NFL Players Association attorneys who fought on Brady’s behalf to question NFL general counsel Jeffrey Pash, and not following set precedent on the matter.
As to the explanation of the violated rules, the NFL cited two documents—the Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules policy and the Game-Day Operations manual—as crucial to demonstrating Brady’s culpability. However, neither of these documents were collectively bargained with the NFLPA. Therefore, they are not considered rules that can be used to punish a player, as the Players Association never agreed to them.
Furthermore, Brady’s legal team was not allowed access to NFL general counsel Jeffrey Pash, a key editor of the Welles Report, which outlines the NFL’s probe. Here, the NFL impeded Brady’s ability to properly review the evidence against him and therefore undermined the legitimacy of the arbitration. This alone was grounds to vacate the suspension, according to Judge Berman.
Lastly, the NFL also failed to follow precedent set on equipment tampering. In 2014, the Minnesota Vikings were caught on live television, heating their footballs during one of the coldest games of the year. Similar to deflating footballs, this would theoretically give the team an advantage in terms of handling the ball, but, unlike Brady and the New England Patriots, the Vikings were given a warning. The NFL’s arbitrary punishments gave Judge Berman no choice but to strike down Goodell’s decision to uphold Brady’s suspension.
Though Brady is safe for now, the NFL has appealed the ruling and will expect hearings to begin at the end of this season, but, for now, the Patriots are undefeated on the field and in the courtroom.
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