After six trips to the
Super Bowl, four Super Bowl championships, and three Super Bowl MVPs, Tom
Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, may have won his biggest game
yet, beating NFL Czar Roger Goodell in the U.S.
The Judge threw out the
four game suspension Goodell gave Brady for involvement in the deflation of
footballs in the league championship game last year. It was an embarrassing setback for the $44
million per year Commissioner.
In the course of the court
action it became clear the judge did not like the NFL position of not warning
players of the consequence of the action, having no basis for the four game
suspension, for refusing to allow Brady's lawyers access to the Investigator
for the NFL, and a number of other issues.
Multiple efforts to settle
the case were made before the season begins next week but the NFL refused to
agree to any changes in arbitration. In
fact, it was the NFL under Goodell, that took the case to court.
The power of the
Commissioner and the NFL itself was under the microscope and both lost a lot of
credibility in the process. Unfortunately,
there is a high probability the NFL will appeal the ruling to protect their
privileged status in the American system.
In the meantime, Brady can
breathe a sigh of relief.
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