Not-so-gentelmen,
Let's remember that this should be a fan driven issue. This doesn't mean that we're submitting to mob rule.
Under the circumstances you are contradicting yourself badly. Nothing could be more obvious than that this issue has become a mob mentality issue. When the issue is about air pressure and the reaction on the punishment side has gone as far as no so uncommon demands to suspend Brady for a full year, take back the Super Bowl trophy (make it all of them), and other insanely ridiculously out of proportion penalty proposals compared to the offense and the flimsy basis for any penalty at all, then you have submitted to mob rule.
I think that Brady and Bellichick should be banned from the HOF and Kraft should be forced to sell the team. If we had a commissioner like NBA's Adam Silver that is exactly what would have happened.
Need I give any more proof when this kind of total nonsense view is taken seriously by the hate-ridden writer.
The resolution for this issue should be based on the rules and ethical proportion as already outlined in the league guidelines. Instead we get a record penalty exceeding episodes with far more egregious/heinous offenses and so distant from the handling of like offenses that it seems like madness on a rampage.
My premise is that there should be an independent arbitrator (for fairness) and that Brady should submit his cell phone records and texts (to be fair).
Mostly agreed with here. This is where Goodell has exposed a strange instability. He hires the investigator then sets himself up as the arbitrator just 8 day after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled against his power to arbitrate anything in the NFL based on conflict of interest:
First, the Court pointed out that Section 8.3 gives the Commissioner “full, complete, and final jurisdiction and authority to arbitrate . . . [a]ny dispute between any player, coach, and/or other employee of any member of the League and any member club or clubs.” Next, the Court pointed out that Section 8.1 requires the NFL to “select and employ a person of unquestioned integrity to serve as Commissioner of the League and shall determine the period and fix the compensation of his employment.” Then, the Court pointed out that Section 8.2 states that the “Commissioner shall have no financial interest, direct or indirect, in any professional sport.”
The provisions are clearly inconsistent; it’s impossible for the Commissioner to have “no financial interest” in “any professional sport” when he is paid by the league — and when the bulk of his compensation often comes from bonuses tied to the financial success of the league. More importantly, the Missouri Supreme Court concluded that the conflicting provisions and obvious bias of the Commissioner when “required to arbitrate claims against his employers” makes the requirement that employees submit claims to arbitration resolved by the Commissioner unenforceable.
While those provisions likely will have greater teeth because they appear in Collective Bargaining Agreements, the three provisions quoted by the Missouri Supreme Court from the NFL’s Constitution and Bylaws lay the foundation for a case-by-case attack on arbitration submitted to the Commissioner based on the inherent bias of the Commissioner.
I don't think Brady has a too much of a problem turning over his phone to an unbiased authority but given how flimsy text messages were somehow twisted to absolute meanings why would he give it to anyone hired by Goodell.
I was stunned when I heard Goodell had appointed himself as arbiter in this case for several obvious conflict of interest reasons, but I'm bewildered about how he thinks he could do this in view of the very recent ruling against him in that position. Of course if he could get away with it this would be his only way to insure he does not face yet another arbitration catastrophe for himself due to a complete lack of conclusive evidence and disproportionate penalties, but it almost guarantees a lawsuit by Brady and the team which would have a great chance of winning based on predisposed bias and conflict of interest even without the ruling in Missouri.
Here's the kicker. Brady's legal team has filed to call Goodell and Wells to testify as witnesses making a farce of Goodells position as arbiter...IF it wasn't already. Put this under beautiful move...even if it was so obvious and necessary.
My guess is under these circumstances that he'd drop his challenge to the punishment (because no one realistically believes his story).
You are sadly mistaken here. Brady has been one of the hardest working athletes in sports history from the start. Read the history of his working drive at Michigan University to be the best. He's only gotten more dedicated cutting short his off-season to be at camp before any other players including rookies, becoming devoted to a special radical trainingregimen including strict dietary prohibitions. He takes great pride in who he is, what he can accomplish on the field, what he represents to himself and everyone else. He's the last person to stand for anything that smears his name. He wants a clean record and he wouldn't be Brady if he didn't do all he could to make sure that is guaranteed. If the penalties aren't cleaned out I believe there's a 75% to 90% chance he would sue Goodell and the NFL.
Let's remember that I was right about the initial punishment, so odds are that I'm correct.
So was I as DD knows so well.
...we all know they're "bad sports"....a Boston trait.....LOL
Coming from conspirator mongers like you and DD who are obsessed about blaming the Democrats for everything.
Make no mistake, Brady intends to make war against Goodell to preserve his honor. It's not a matter of lighter or harsher penalties it's about full exoneration. Goodells handling of the entire episode, which should have been the same as when the Vikings and Chargers manipulated balls against the rules, has infuriated Brady and the Patriots. Goodell's very obvious double-dealing in setting himself as the arbiter to judge his own handling was the call to no holds barred.
CORE MEASUREMENTS;
Lastly, the basis of the evidence that there was any offense at all was the gauge measurements originally taken with two gauges by a so-called expert referee Walt Anderson. The Wells Report selectively used only one set of gauge numbers for the Colts that favored them, while the basis of the deflation episode was a set of measurements from a different gauge that implicated the Patriots...the same one that implicated the Colts with 3 of 4 balls. Without this selective use of numbers to excuse one team and implicate another there would have been no issue at all.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/sto...port-cheating-deflategate-ted-wells-tom-brady
Investigators relied on the logo gauge halftime numbers for the Colts, but the non-logo gauge numbers for the Patriots. Goldberg says the reason for that is the investigators wanted to reject the Ideal Gas Law, as provided in the Wells Report. Goldberg says, “Relying on Mr. Anderson’s best recollections, basic science fully explains the drop in psi of the Patriots footballs during the first half.” In other words, Goldberg says investigators didn’t accept the theory science explained the loss of psi in the Patriots’ footballs.
Talk about a SOLID case for the Patriots appeal. No wonder Goodell wants to cover himself by putting the verdict in his own pocket regardless of extreme conflict of interest.
Cheers,
Merlot