Brady 4 Game Suspension Upheld

[sharpe1027]

NFL player's careers are short so they should be allowed more leniency. Goodell doesn't hand out punishment in a consistent manner. It's just not fair.

Let me be clear, Goodell is a moron. However, Brady is full of shit. The evidence is pretty clear that he openly lied about not knowing anything about the incident. It is also pretty clear that he destroyed relevant information and then lied about why he destroyed it.

We have direct evidence of the ball handlers talking about Brady pressuring them and offering bribes to use a needle, etc.. Brady denied any knowledge. We have direct evidence of Brady destroying the only phone he owned during the most relevant time period, and then using an argument that mirrors the exact phrasing he needs to avoid a serious legal problem. This argument is directly contradicted by the presence of another phone that was not destroyed.

What would each of us expect if we did something similar to our bosses? I think many of us would be worried about losing our jobs.

Boo hoo for Tom Brady. It is just not fair!

[pbmax]

We have direct evidence of the ball handlers talking about Brady pressuring them and offering bribes to use a needle, etc.

There is no indication that the pressure was about lowering the balls to below 12.5. All the same messages can be read as an insistence on every ball being as close to 12.5 as possible. And the 16.0 comment is easily read as the consequence of getting the target wrong and the refs being blasé about fixing it.

You have to assume malfeasance to _know_ there was a conspiracy to evade the rule. That's not how evidence works.

[sharpe1027]

There is no indication that the pressure was about lowering the balls to below 12.5. All the same messages can be read as an insistence on every ball being as close to 12.5 as possible. And the 16.0 comment is easily read as the consequence of getting the target wrong and the refs being blasé about fixing it.

You have to assume malfeasance to _know_ there was a conspiracy to evade the rule. That's not how evidence works.

Not true. The conspiracy usually occurs before any acts are performed.

Also "no indication" is giving a pretty favorable reading of the text messages. If all they had to do was set the ball to the minimum - per the rules- they could have done that without all the hoopla - or veiled threats (I mean jokes) about going to ESPN. Why the hell would ESPN care about setting ball pressure on the low end of the scale? Please explain how that is "no indication."

[pbmax]

Not true. The conspiracy usually occurs before any acts are performed.

Also "no indication" is giving a pretty favorable reading of the text messages. If all they had to do was set the ball to the minimum - per the rules- they could have done that without all the hoopla - or veiled threats (I mean jokes) about going to ESPN. Why the hell would ESPN care about setting ball pressure on the low end of the scale? Please explain how that is "no indication."

I have joked that I plan to report my employer for Geneva Convention violations for keeping me late for a useless meeting.

But more likely, Brady is being an asshole to underlings about 12.5. In fact, I find this the most likely scenario, that if they were planning something extra-legal (or even the legal version of this), they were looking to deflate balls that were adjusted by refs above 12.5. However, even with that reading, they have no evidence it actually happened. The physical evidence isn't compelling.

That is why Commish's appeal ruling letter specified a new cause for the suspension, the lack of cooperation on the cell phone. He broad brushed the Wells Report shortcomings and even went beyond them, stating the evidence there-in was clear and convincing. A level of certainty that even Wells wasn't comfortable with. And that does not begin to deal with the info presented after the decision, before the appeal, which compromised 99% of what Wells was asking for. Roger rejected it as not practical.