Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association have seemingly won their first battle in court against the NFL, though the war rages on.
Brady’s legal team and the NFL met in front of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman on Wednesday, with Berman’s obvious goal being to push the two sides toward a settlement. While flaws in the arguments made by both sides over the last several months were exposed, it’s hard to escape the feeling that Roger Goodell and his crew emerged as the early losers.
New York Daily News court reporter Stephen Brown live-tweeted the hearing, which began with Berman grilling NFL attorney Daniel Nash about the league’s lack of actual evidence against Brady.
Nash says Wells was retained "just to get the facts." Berman skeptical of Wells' dual role as investigator and attorney hired by NFL.
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: "Is there any direct evidence linking Mr. Brady to tampering?"
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: I’m trying to figure out what is the direct evidence that implicates Mr. Brady in that deflation…in that bathroom…on Jan. 18
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Nash: "Is there a text in which Mr. Brady instructs someone to put a needle in a football? No there is not such direct evidence."
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: I don't know what to make of that finding Tom Brady was at least generally aware of the activities of" Mcnally, Jastremski.
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: From legal perspective: "You have to show that conspirators intended to be in the conspiracy…Is there a meeting?"
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: "What is the evidence of a scheme or conspiracy that covers the Jan. 15 game? I’m having trouble finding it."
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
A major issue for the NFL could be that the league seems to be arguing that the Patriots have been running a ball-tampering scheme for quite some time. As Berman noted, however, the Ted Wells report — which resulted in disciplinary action against Brady — relates only to the AFC Championship Game.
Berman also brought up a point that many football fans have raised with regard to the outcome of the AFC Championship Game.
Berman: Turns out Mr. Brady did better with higher inflated balls than underinflated balls. You might say he got no competitive advantage
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Again, Berman is trying to pressure the two sides into settling. He said after the hearing that he has not made up his mind over which way he would rule, and he tried to make that clear while questioning Brady’s attorney Jeffrey Kessler.
Berman then adds: "Would be hard to imagine a QB…(not knowing a ball is deflated). He’s the one who throws the ball."
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman to Kessler: It looks like they…deflated the game balls? Why would either one of them do that without Mr. Brady’s consent?"
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
(referring to Mcnally and Jastremski)
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman: Why did Mr. Brady not cooperate with the Wells investigation, with respect to providing texts?
— Stephen Brown (@PPVSRB) August 12, 2015
Berman wants both sides to understand that they look bad from a public relations standpoint. However, Kessler’s contention that Brady didn’t want to turn over his cell phone for privacy reasons — emails like this show us why — is a fairly strong argument.
There is a long way to go, but Brady and his team have to be feeling good about some of the things Berman said in court on Wednesday.
