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| FILE - In this June 23, 2015, file photo, New England Patriot's quarterback Tom Brady arrives for his appeal hearing at NFL headquarters in New York. The NFL Players Union has sued to get a judge to void NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's four-game suspension of Brady in the "Deflategate" scandal, setting the stage for the spectacle of the pair having to appear on Wednesday Aug. 12, 2015, in the same New York courtroom. |
NEW YORK (AP)
-- A federal judge put the NFL on the defensive over its four-game
suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Wednesday,
demanding to know what evidence directly links Brady to deflating
footballs and belittling the drama of the controversy.
"What
is the direct evidence that implicates Mr. Brady?" Judge Richard M.
Berman repeatedly asked NFL lawyer Daniel L. Nash at the first hearing
in the civil case in Manhattan federal court as Brady and Commissioner
Roger Goodell looked on.
Nash responded there
was "considerable evidence Mr. Brady clearly knew about this," including
records of text messages and phone calls between the quarterback and
one of two Patriots employees implicated in the scandal known as
"Deflategate."
But he also said there was no
"smoking gun" showing Brady had direct knowledge that the balls were
underinflated for the first half of the Patriots' 45-7 win over the
Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game Jan. 18.
Brady
and Goodell didn't speak during the hearing, except to introduce
themselves to Berman. Brady, his head lowered, looked dour as lawyers
spoke for about 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Immediately
afterward, Brady smiled slightly as he signed sketches for two court
artists. Berman then met individually with each side for more settlement
discussions in private.
The talks continued
more than four hours until about 5 p.m. Afterward, a smiling Brady left
the courthouse. Several people shouted "cheater, cheater!"
Berman
could be seen briefly speaking with Goodell inside the courthouse
before the commissioner left to a waiting sports utility vehicle about
10 minutes after Brady. Goodell smiled as dozens of photo and video
journalists did their work. Neither of them spoke and there was no
immediate word on the status of talks.
Two
weeks ago, the NFL asked Berman to declare that its punishment of Brady
was properly carried out. The players' union countersued, asking him to
nullify the suspension. The judge has signaled from the start that he
wants the parties to reach a swift settlement.
On
Wednesday, Berman called it "ironic or not" that Brady's statistics
were better in the second half of the AFC championship game, after the
balls were re-inflated.
"You might say (Brady) got no better advantage from the under-inflation," the judge said.
At
one point, the judge also seemed to try to defuse the controversy,
saying: "This Deflategate. I'm not sure where the `gate' comes from."
When
the union got its chance to argue, the judge asked attorney Jeffrey L.
Kessler why one of the Patriots employees would deflate balls without
Brady's knowledge. Kessler said the union does not believe the balls
were deflated but, if they were, the employee did it on his own because
he "thought it would be good for his quarterback."
The
judge also questioned why Brady destroyed his cellphone in the midst of
the inquiry - a move that the league argues was further proof of his
deception. Kessler claimed that the quarterback got rid of the phone on
the advice of his agent to protect his privacy but had otherwise
cooperated with the inquiry.
However, in hindsight, "You're right, it could have been done a different way," the lawyer said of the phone.
Both sides are scheduled to return to court next week.
In an email after everyone left court, Kessler said: "Sorry, not commenting."
Lawyers for the NFL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Goodell
suspended Brady after concluding he "knew about, approved of, consented
to, and provided inducements and rewards" to support a scheme in which a
Patriots employee deflated balls on game day.
Brady insists he knew
nothing about it.
In a July 28 decision
upholding the suspension, Goodell heavily criticized Brady for having an
aide destroy a cellphone containing nearly 10,000 text messages from a
four-month stretch including the AFC championship game. He accused him
of obstructing the NFL probe about a controversy that represented
"conduct detrimental to the integrity of, and public confidence in, the
game of professional football."
In court
documents, the union's lawyers said the suspension was unfair and
violated the labor contract and complained that it would cause
irreparable harm to Brady by forcing him to miss games.
They called a June appeal hearing before Goodell "a kangaroo court proceeding, bereft of fundamentally fair procedures."
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