Report: 'Influential' owners do not want Tom Brady's suspension reduced

[Jet Fan RI]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25248075/report-influential-owners-want-tom-brady-suspension-kept-at-4-games Report: 'Influential' owners do not want Tom Brady's suspension reduced

By John Breech | CBSSports.com

 

July 23, 2015 12:48 am ET

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell might be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Tom Brady.

If Goodell doesn't reduce Brady's four-game Deflategate suspension, the quarterback'slegal team and the NFLPA will likely take the NFL to court to get the suspension trimmed down to zero games.

On the other hand, if Goodell does reduce the four-game suspension, he could be in hot water with several NFL owners who don't want to see Brady's suspension reduced. That's right, several owners want Brady's suspension to stick.

According to ProFootballTalk, a "small handful of influential owners" want to see Brady's suspension stay at four games.

If Goodell decides to stick with the four-game suspension, he'll appease those owners, but he'll likely receive some blowback from the general public because then Brady's suspension will be as long as Greg Hardy's.

Hardy was suspended for 10 games in April after the NFL "determined that there was sufficient credible evidence that Hardy engaged in conduct that violated NFL policies in multiple respects and with aggravating circumstances" in relation to a domestic abuse charge.

That 10-game suspension was trimmed down to four games after an appeal though.

Besides the Hardy effect, Goodell will also have to deal with aforementioned legal situation if he decides not to reduce Brady's suspension and there will almost certainly be a legal situation.

NFLPA President Eric Winston made it clear on Wednesday that the player's association will be ready to make the next move if Goodell doesn't reduce the suspension.

"I hope they do the right thing, I hope they exonerate Tom and overturn his suspension, but if they don't we're prepared to take the next step." Winston told ProFootballTalk.

The easiest way out of this for Goodell would be a settlement with Brady's camp.

According to PFT, settlement talks have occurred, however, PFT did note that a settlement would be "unexpected" at this point.

 

 

Will Roger Goodell reduce Tom Brady's suspension? (USATSI)

 

 

Topics: Eric Winston, Greg Hardy, Tom Brady, Deflategate, New England Patriots, NFL

[flgreen]

DeflateGate: Eleven Teams, Five Owners, Four Coaches, Two Executives Support Roger Goodell's Penalty

By Rich Hill  @PP_Rich_Hill on May 18, 2015, 11:34p 72

 

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

 

Want to know why Roger Goodell's position is completely safe? Here are all the teams who have come out in support of his penalty.

 TWEET (20)  SHARE (71)  PIN

 

Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans, came out in support of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's excessive penalty on the Patriots for DeflateGate.

 

 

"Roger's doing a fine job," McNair said via the Houston Chronicle. "A lot of these issues, there's no way you can satisfy everybody. They're complicated, and you try to use your best judgment and do what you think is best for the game. And I think that's what he's trying to do."

 

 

McNair isn't the first voice in a place of team leadership to speak out in favor of Goodell. We dug through the archives to see what the owners, general managers, and coaches had to say about the Patriots and DeflateGate since January.

 

 

Openly Supports the Patriots

 

 

 

Patriots - A given, www.wellsreportcontext.com

 

 

The League Needs to Chill, But Penalty Warranted

 

 

Bengals - "What I'm saying is it lies within the league," head coach and competition committee member Marvin Lewis said at the Senior Bowl in January. "It's their responsibility. They are in the charge of the game."

 

 

Steelers - "I wouldn't put it on the scale of serious," said Steelers President Art Rooney II back in January.

 

 

Raiders - "I think there [was] an overreaction, from my standpoint,'' Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said this May. "I think it was a little bit overdone."

 

 

Panthers - "I think more is being made out of it than needs to be," said head coach Ron Rivera took a lukewarm gamble with this statement back in January.

 

 

Firmly Against the Patriots

 

 

Bills - Honestly not sure where to put this one. Head Coach Rex Ryan was doing a fairly good job of staying out of the spotlight, until he came out and said, "I'm not feeling sorry for anyone." As a rival, he shouldn't- but we all know how he feels.

 

 

Dolphins - Vice Chairman Don Shula ignores his hypocrisy to take down the Patriots and to brag about his past achievements.

 

 

Jets - Glass houses sort of situation, where a repeat tampering offender of an owner gets only a $100k slap on the wrist, while his wife can't hide her excitement over the Patriots punishment.

 

 

Browns - "I lose a lot of respect for guys who cheat," head coach Mike Pettine stated earlier this month. Pettine also talked about how Tom Brady bragged at Wes Welker's wedding that the Patriots had the Jets playbook.

 

 

Colts - Everything and everyone.

 

 

Texans - As stated in the intro, the owner of the Texans is firmly on Goodell's side.

 

 

Broncos - General Manager John Elway supported Goodell's actions by stating, "The integrity of the game is No. 1. So the commissioner obviously felt that was compromised and did what he believed he had to do. I think what the commissioner does, he's done a tremendous job for this league and especially the growth that it's seen since he's been here so I support the commissioner 100 percent."

 

 

Cowboys - "I think he's doing a great job, and I'm a big supporter of his," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this May. "You can easily just follow the rules and you'll be all right."

 

 

Giants - "The National Football League has researched, investigated, done their work, and you have to believe that the league has done their due diligence," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said this May. "And we stand by that."

 

 

Falcons - "The league feels a tremendous sense of responsibility, as do all the owners, in reinforcing the culture of the NFL, the shield and make sure the game remains as balanced and as pure and as true to its integrity and its ethics as can be done," Blank said to the Associated Press this May. "When they find any organization or any individual has gotten off those tracks, it's their job to remind them of that and bring them back on the tracks and do it in a way that really reinforces what the league is about. I think in the case of New England they have done that."

 

 

Seahawks - "I think this was an opportunity for the league to step up and do the right thing," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained this May. "Nobody wants to play this game thinking that somebody has some kind of an advantage, players and fans alike, and so they did the right thing in following up on it,

 

 

 

 

 

These teams have close personal ties to the Patriots: Chargers (owner Dean Spanos is close with Kraft), Chiefs (Andy Reid and Bill Belichick), Eagles (Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick), Buccaneers (GM Jason Licht is former Patriots employee), Saints (Sean Payton and Bill Belichick)

 

 

Other teams without comment: Jaguars, Titans, Washington, the entire NFC North, the NFC West sans Seattle

 

 

Ravens - Head coach John Harbaugh and company staying away after Ravens were rumored as a potential tip off for the DeflateGate investigation.

 

---

 

 

As would be expected, far fewer NFC teams had any comment to make in the open, while most AFC teams had leadership with an open opinion on the matter. The Raiders' Jack Del Rio is the only person high up in the team's structure to openly question DeflateGate since the days following the Colts game back in January, and even his statement was far from a ringing endorsement.

 

 

For as much as we'd like to cry that this is the downfall of Goodell (I'm definitely guilty), there have been a near-zero number of cases of teams in support of the Patriots in the wake of the Wells Report. The voices in support have been far stronger.

 

 

Luckily, the Patriots have eleven games against teams that have spoken out either in favor of the league's decision, or against the Patriots- so look for New England to have bulletin board material for at least eleven wins in 2015.

[GandWFan]

Ha.. ^^^^  written by an unbiased reporter... yeah, right.

[Jet Fan RI]

DeflateGate: Eleven Teams, Five Owners, Four Coaches, Two Executives Support Roger Goodell's Penalty

By Rich Hill  @PP_Rich_Hill on May 18, 2015, 11:34p 72

 

Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

 

Want to know why Roger Goodell's position is completely safe? Here are all the teams who have come out in support of his penalty.

 TWEET (20)  SHARE (71)  PIN

 

Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans, came out in support of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's excessive penalty on the Patriots for DeflateGate.

 

 

"Roger's doing a fine job," McNair said via the Houston Chronicle. "A lot of these issues, there's no way you can satisfy everybody. They're complicated, and you try to use your best judgment and do what you think is best for the game. And I think that's what he's trying to do."

 

 

McNair isn't the first voice in a place of team leadership to speak out in favor of Goodell. We dug through the archives to see what the owners, general managers, and coaches had to say about the Patriots and DeflateGate since January.

 

 

Openly Supports the Patriots

 

 

 

Patriots - A given, www.wellsreportcontext.com

 

 

The League Needs to Chill, But Penalty Warranted

 

 

Bengals - "What I'm saying is it lies within the league," head coach and competition committee member Marvin Lewis said at the Senior Bowl in January. "It's their responsibility. They are in the charge of the game."

 

 

Steelers - "I wouldn't put it on the scale of serious," said Steelers President Art Rooney II back in January.

 

 

Raiders - "I think there [was] an overreaction, from my standpoint,'' Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said this May. "I think it was a little bit overdone."

 

 

Panthers - "I think more is being made out of it than needs to be," said head coach Ron Rivera took a lukewarm gamble with this statement back in January.

 

 

Firmly Against the Patriots

 

 

Bills - Honestly not sure where to put this one. Head Coach Rex Ryan was doing a fairly good job of staying out of the spotlight, until he came out and said, "I'm not feeling sorry for anyone." As a rival, he shouldn't- but we all know how he feels.

 

 

Dolphins - Vice Chairman Don Shula ignores his hypocrisy to take down the Patriots and to brag about his past achievements.

 

 

Jets - Glass houses sort of situation, where a repeat tampering offender of an owner gets only a $100k slap on the wrist, while his wife can't hide her excitement over the Patriots punishment.

 

 

Browns - "I lose a lot of respect for guys who cheat," head coach Mike Pettine stated earlier this month. Pettine also talked about how Tom Brady bragged at Wes Welker's wedding that the Patriots had the Jets playbook.

 

 

Colts - Everything and everyone.

 

 

Texans - As stated in the intro, the owner of the Texans is firmly on Goodell's side.

 

 

Broncos - General Manager John Elway supported Goodell's actions by stating, "The integrity of the game is No. 1. So the commissioner obviously felt that was compromised and did what he believed he had to do. I think what the commissioner does, he's done a tremendous job for this league and especially the growth that it's seen since he's been here so I support the commissioner 100 percent."

 

 

Cowboys - "I think he's doing a great job, and I'm a big supporter of his," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this May. "You can easily just follow the rules and you'll be all right."

 

 

Giants - "The National Football League has researched, investigated, done their work, and you have to believe that the league has done their due diligence," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said this May. "And we stand by that."

 

 

Falcons - "The league feels a tremendous sense of responsibility, as do all the owners, in reinforcing the culture of the NFL, the shield and make sure the game remains as balanced and as pure and as true to its integrity and its ethics as can be done," Blank said to the Associated Press this May. "When they find any organization or any individual has gotten off those tracks, it's their job to remind them of that and bring them back on the tracks and do it in a way that really reinforces what the league is about. I think in the case of New England they have done that."

 

 

Seahawks - "I think this was an opportunity for the league to step up and do the right thing," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll explained this May. "Nobody wants to play this game thinking that somebody has some kind of an advantage, players and fans alike, and so they did the right thing in following up on it,

 

 

 

 

 

These teams have close personal ties to the Patriots: Chargers (owner Dean Spanos is close with Kraft), Chiefs (Andy Reid and Bill Belichick), Eagles (Chip Kelly and Bill Belichick), Buccaneers (GM Jason Licht is former Patriots employee), Saints (Sean Payton and Bill Belichick)

 

 

Other teams without comment: Jaguars, Titans, Washington, the entire NFC North, the NFC West sans Seattle

 

 

Ravens - Head coach John Harbaugh and company staying away after Ravens were rumored as a potential tip off for the DeflateGate investigation.

 

---

 

 

As would be expected, far fewer NFC teams had any comment to make in the open, while most AFC teams had leadership with an open opinion on the matter. The Raiders' Jack Del Rio is the only person high up in the team's structure to openly question DeflateGate since the days following the Colts game back in January, and even his statement was far from a ringing endorsement.

 

 

For as much as we'd like to cry that this is the downfall of Goodell (I'm definitely guilty), there have been a near-zero number of cases of teams in support of the Patriots in the wake of the Wells Report. The voices in support have been far stronger.

 

 

Luckily, the Patriots have eleven games against teams that have spoken out either in favor of the league's decision, or against the Patriots- so look for New England to have bulletin board material for at least eleven wins in 2015.

 

Notice the writer here casually tosses out the word "excessive" with regard to the penalty, as if that's an established fact and not just the writer's personal opinion. Personally, I feel the penalty was too weak.

[drdetroit]

The "Influential Owners" being all NFL Owners not named Bob Kraft.

[AFJF]

Because inappropriately answering a question asked by a reporter is the same thing as a long-running drawn out plan to cheat on the field....right?

[slats]

Because inappropriately answering a question asked by a reporter is the same thing as a long-running drawn out plan to cheat on the field....right?

If it makes them feel any better, I'm fine with Woody Johnson being suspended the first four games of the season, too.

[Jolot]

Is there such a thing as an un-influential multi billionaire ?

[AFJF]

Is there such a thing as an un-influential multi billionaire ?

 

Have you met SAR?

[chirorob]

I love this.

 

Roger squirming, Brady being left out there.  My 2 cents, Roger should do what is right, not what some of the owners think.  That's why he makes such a massive salary

[jgb]

I love this.

 

Roger squirming, Brady being left out there.  My 2 cents, Roger should do what is right, not what some of the owners think.  That's why he makes such a massive salary

 

Although being willing to do what's wrong is usually how you gain wealth in this world.

[flgreen]

Notice the writer here casually tosses out the word "excessive" with regard to the penalty, as if that's an established fact and not just the writer's personal opinion. Personally, I feel the penalty was too weak.

 

I agree.

 

He also takes a dig at the Jets.   "Jets - Glass houses sort of situation, where a repeat tampering offender of an owner gets only a $100k slap on the wrist, while his wife can't hide her excitement over the Patriots punishment."

 

​Like there is any comparison to the slip of words Woody had in the Revis situation, with extended, planned cheating in game situations

[Integrity28]

Is there such a thing as an un-influential multi billionaire ?

 

 

Browns, Jaguars, and Raiders owner vs. Colts, Broncos, Cowboys and Giants ownership

[Jet Fan RI]

I agree.

 

He also takes a dig at the Jets.   "Jets - Glass houses sort of situation, where a repeat tampering offender of an owner gets only a $100k slap on the wrist, while his wife can't hide her excitement over the Patriots punishment."

 

​Like there is any comparison to the slip of words Woody had in the Revis situation, with extended, planned cheating in game situations

 

Another writer passing off personal opinions as facts. Simply state what the punishment was. That's a fact. If the writer doesn't like the punishment, clearly identify statements about the punishment as being opinion. Not sure how much of this is due to incompetence on the part of an author who is unable to distinguish fact from opinion vs. how much is a veiled attempt to bamboozle the reader into thinking differently.

[Sperm Edwards]

Another writer passing off personal opinions as facts. Simply state what the punishment was. That's a fact. If the writer doesn't like the punishment, clearly identify statements about the punishment as being opinion. Not sure how much of this is due to incompetence on the part of an author who is unable to distinguish fact from opinion vs. how much is a veiled attempt to bamboozle the reader into thinking differently.

 

Aside from the fact that, however the rules are written, intent is a big factor in handing down punishments. They're written with the potential for particularly harsh ones just to give the punishing party as much leeway as needed. But it doesn't mean it must be handed down.

[flgreen]

Another writer passing off personal opinions as facts. Simply state what the punishment was. That's a fact. If the writer doesn't like the punishment, clearly identify statements about the punishment as being opinion. Not sure how much of this is due to incompetence on the part of an author who is unable to distinguish fact from opinion vs. how much is a veiled attempt to bamboozle the reader into thinking differently.

Sadly, that is the way news reporting has gone over the last 40 years or so.  Not only in sports, but in the national news media as well

[Jet Fan RI]

Sadly, that is the way news reporting has gone over the last 40 years or so.  Not only in sports, but in the national news media as well

 

Absolutely agree.

[Jet9]

Every 'tough' answer is full of hemming and hawing. Full of 'well... Ya know...' Not surprised as we live in a nation of hurt feelings now. Tap dancing on egg shells.

And the Greg Hardy argument isn't much of one at all. The NFL is beyond light on one instance so it should be on others? What?

We've been de-spined as Americans. Zero balls.

[Larz]

let it go to court.  subpoena the phone records

[jetscrazey]

There's a difference between "not thinking it's a big deal" and "wanting the Patriots to have fewer wins in 2015."  It's probably every AFC owner, plus Jerry Jones, whose Cowboys who play them in week 4.

[Jet Nut]

Although being willing to do what's wrong is usually how you gain wealth in this world.

And doing what your very bosses want you to do is what gets you a 40 mil gig

[Jet Nut]

I agree.

 

He also takes a dig at the Jets.   "Jets - Glass houses sort of situation, where a repeat tampering offender of an owner gets only a $100k slap on the wrist, while his wife can't hide her excitement over the Patriots punishment."

 

​Like there is any comparison to the slip of words Woody had in the Revis situation, with extended, planned cheating in game situations

The Pats were built on tampering. Did he forget that they tampered with Bellichick? Hey, how does he think the Pats got Revis a year ago? Everyone knows except the clown with the pen?

[Dcat]

let it go to court.  subpoena the phone records

 

 

subpoena Jim McNally and John Jastremski.  Let's hear them speak under oath. 

[BurnleyJet]

Who wrote that, Ghost in Pads?

[Thor99]

Who wrote that, Ghost in Pads?

Tx seems to have some time on his hands.

[faba]

So they going to announce it late on a Friday to avoid  publicity somewhat- that would be typical NFL move

[flgreen]

So they going to announce it late on a Friday to avoid  publicity somewhat- that would be typical NFL move

 

I was expecting next Friday when all the scribes, and media would be caught  up in camp openings.  "In other news, the NFL has announced a complete apology to the majestic Pats organization, and awarded them the first over all pick in the 2016 draft for any inconvenience they may have suffered" 

[faba]

I was expecting next Friday when all the scribes, and media would be caught  up in camp openings.  "In other news, the NFL has announced a complete apology to the majestic Pats organization, and awarded them the first over all pick in the 2016 draft for any inconvenience they may have suffered" 

Yes we made a terrible mistake and reduce the sentence for Mr. Tom Brady who admits to doing nothing wrong. He just threw  a football presented to him

[Jet Fan RI]

I was expecting next Friday when all the scribes, and media would be caught  up in camp openings.  "In other news, the NFL has announced a complete apology to the majestic Pats organization, and awarded them the first over all pick in the 2016 draft for any inconvenience they may have suffered" 

 

This could be a good guess. I noticed on the cbs website that it said an announcement would not be made until the end of July, and next Friday is the 31st.

[jgb]

And doing what your very bosses want you to do is what gets you a 40 mil gig

 

Can't please 32 bosses at same time. NFl commish is a tough job

[#27TheDominator]

Can't please 32 bosses at same time. NFl commish is a tough job

 

For $40M per I would find a way.

[jgb]

For $40M per I would find a way.

 

No doubt, I'd voluntarily go to prison for 2 years for $40M.