12 by Casey Sherman

Author:Casey Sherman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2018-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Highs and Lows

The NFLPA wanted to argue Brady’s case in front of a real judge and not someone who just believed he had the authority to act like one. The union filed a federal lawsuit in Minnesota, a state that had been friendly to players in the past, most notably Vikings star Adrian Peterson, who had recently won a lawsuit to vacate a suspension for abusing his child. But a judge there said it made no sense to hear Brady’s case because he played in Massachusetts, the union had its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the NFL league offices were located in New York. Since the league had also filed a lawsuit, the case would be heard in Manhattan in front of Judge Richard M. Berman of the United States District Court.

The two-hour hearing took place in August, and no cameras were allowed in the federal courtroom. Instead, sketch artist Jane Rosenberg was hired to draw up a visual representation of the proceedings. The artist quickly sketched the room with Brady sitting next to agent Don Yee in the second row. Rosenberg’s image of number 12 looked more like Freddy Krueger, which turned into a nightmare for the artist when the sketch went viral and was mocked across the country. It was a light moment in the middle of a dark storm where Brady’s legacy and his future were squarely on the line.

Attorney Jeffrey Kessler argued before Judge Berman that Goodell’s power wasn’t limitless and that there had to be a fair and consistent method to how the commissioner disciplined the players.

But Berman seemed more concerned with what he called the “quantum leap” between Wells and Goodell in their findings. Ted Wells said that Brady was “generally aware” of the ball deflation, while Roger Goodell stated in his ruling that the quarterback had been involved in a “scheme.”

Berman pushed for a settlement between the two sides but was ready to make a ruling if a compromise couldn’t be reached.

Meanwhile, Tom returned to training camp in Foxborough as he prepared for the 2015 regular season and waited for a deal to come. But there would be no settlement.

On September 3, 2015, Judge Berman erased Brady’s four-game suspension in a stunning rebuke to Roger Goodell. In his filing, Berman wrote that Goodell “had dispensed his own brand of industrial justice” and found aspects of the NFL’s decision “fundamentally unfair” to Brady.97

When word of Berman’s decision reached the Patriots, the team immediately posted a photo of Brady with his fist raised in the air on its Twitter feed. It was just a picture. No words were necessary. Teammate Rob Gronkowski posted a photo of Brady riding the big tight end’s back after a touchdown. Let’s go!, Gronk wrote. This season to be one heck of another ride!

Another ride indeed. The Patriots started the 2015 season with ten straight wins before finishing with a 12–4 record. Along the way, they clinched their seventh-straight AFC East title, tying a league record. Brady played all

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.