NEW YORK - Lawyers for New England Patriots’ Tom Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are back in court as a quick settlement of their dispute over the quarterback’s four-game suspension remains out of reach.
“There is no settlement at this point,” U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said at the start of a hearing in Manhattan federal court Wednesday.
The judge is set to consider each side’s arguments after pushing them publicly to settle and then failing in private talks to resolve the dispute that’s come to be known as “Deflategate.”
One thing Brady and Goodell agree on is they want the case decided before the Patriots’ Sept. 10 season opener at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brady didn’t attend the Patriots’ practice on Tuesday, though the team didn’t say why he was excused. He also missed practice the previous Tuesday before the first initial court appearance in the lawsuit over his punishment.
Berman had ordered Brady and Goodell to come to court with their lawyers last week, and then met with them for hours to discuss settlement. Since then, both sides have talked further without reaching a deal.
Lawyers on Wednesday will focus on whether Berman has the authority to set aside Goodell’s decision confirming Brady’s suspension.
A league investigation found that Brady probably knew team staff deflated game balls below the minimum allowed before the Patriots 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in last season’s conference championship. Brady also destroyed a cell phone, obstructing the league’s investigation, the NFL claimed.
Brady, who has denied wrongdoing, appealed an arbitration ruling and the suspension to Goodell, who rejected that appeal.
Goodell’s authority
The court case has less to do with what happened in the Patriots’ locker room during the game with the Colts than with whether Goodell acted within his powers under the players’ contract with the league.
The NFL claims its collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union gives Goodell the final say over Brady’s punishment.
Brady and the NFL Players Association contend the arbitration was unfair and that Goodell was biased against him. They said Brady was never told he could be suspended, rather than fined, for using underinflated footballs.
They also argued that no other player had been suspended for tampering with game balls or obstructing a league investigation.
The arbitration decision “is more smear campaign than reasoned decision - a propaganda piece written for public consumption,” they said in a court filing.