The NFL Players Association and the NFL took a significant step on Friday toward coming to a final solution with Tom Brady’s four-game suspension.
Court documents submitted to federal court in New York requested that Judge Richard Berman allow for an expedited schedule that will result in a ruling before the start of the 2015 regular season. Both sides have agreed to submit all necessary documents on or by Aug. 14 and “set a hearing for oral argument” that will enable the court to make a decision by Sept. 4.
What does that mean? For starters, the two sides have finally agreed on something. The NFL, NFLPA and Brady feel that it is in everyone’s best interest to have a federal court ruling before the start of the season so the Deflategate mess can be put in the rearview.
From a legal standpoint, the sides have agreed that no new discovery is needed. That means they have asked Judge Berman to base his ruling strictly on the record from Brady’s appeal hearing in front of Roger Goodell. Cell phone records or other electronic communications will not be combed through. The federal court case will only be about the process, not the actual evidence. It would also avoid the need for Brady to file an injunction that would allow him to play Week 1.
As we mentioned earlier, at least one lawyer with experience litigating against the NFL believes Brady has a good chance of having his suspension overturned. The NFLPA will look to prove that Goodell was not a truly independent arbitrator and that he suspended Brady without precedent — even if Brady did intentionally destroy his cell phone.
Most importantly, the filing should allow us to get one step close to moving past Deflategate and onto actual football.
