NFLPA Makes Letter to NFL Regarding Brady Appeal Public
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NFLPA Makes Letter to NFL Regarding Brady Appeal Public
On Thursday evening, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he will hear Brady's appeal. The NFLPA made their letter public on Friday.
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The first part of the letter addresses Troy Vincent's role in handing down the punishment.
Excerpts below:
The CBA (Collective Barginning Agreement) grants the Commissioner—and only the Commissioner—the authority to impose conduct detrimental discipline on players.
It (the CBA) contains no corresponding provision authorizing the Commissioner to delegate his exclusive role to impose conduct detrimental discipline to you or anyone else. You have no authority to impose discipline on Mr. Brady under the CBA, and such discipline must therefore be set aside.
NFLPA on Brady's 4 Game Suspension
The second part of the letter gets into the four game suspension that was handed to Tom Brady and cites previous league discipline such as Bountygate and Ray Rice.
Excerpt below:
Indeed, no player in the history of the NFL has ever received anything approaching this level of discipline for similar behavior—a change in sanctions squarely forbidden by the CBA and the law of the shop.
Roger Goodell will hear Brady's appeal and as the letter reads, that is not what Brady and the NFLPA wanted.
Excerpts below:
Please be advised that the NFLPA and Mr. Brady intend to call both you (Troy Vincent) and Commissioner Goodell as essential witnesses in the proceeding.
In light of the above, the NFLPA believes that neither Commissioner Goodell nor anyone with close ties to the NFL can serve as arbitrator in Mr. Brady’s appeal under governing legal standards. The credibility and testimony of both you and Commissioner Goodell will be at issue in the hearing as well as numerous procedural issues regarding your testimony and the testimony of the Commissioner.
Accordingly, this letter will serve as a formal demand that the Commissioner follow the Rice precedent and appoint an independent person to serve as arbitrator over Mr. Brady’s appeal. If the Commissioner does not appoint such a neutral arbitrator, the NFLPA and Mr. Brady will seek recusal and pursue all available relief to obtain an arbitrator who is not evidently partial.
What is Next
The NFL has ten days from when Brady filed his appeal (May 16) to schedule the hearing.
The New England Patriots as an organization have until Monday to officially appeal their fine and loss of two draft picks. It is unclear as to whether the organization will do so.
Kessler vs. NFL: Winning the Big Cases
Free agency
Year: 1992
Case: McNeil v. the NFL
Importance: This case is the landmark antitrust jury trial that led to Free Agency in the NFL. This case paved the way for Reggie White's class action lawsuit against the NFL and ultimately secured the current free agency and salary cap terms in the league.
Belichick vs Jets and NFL
Year: 2000
Case: Bill Belichick vs. NFL and New York Jets
Importance: When Belichick signed with the New York Jets, he agreed to be the heir apparent to their head coaching position once Bill Parcells stepped down. He was named head coach as soon as Parcells retired, but within two days, he himself retired from the position - citing that because the Jets were under new ownership, he no longer had to adhere to his contractual obligations.
Belichick wanted to coach the New England Patriots.
Belichick hired Kessler as his attorney, and after a number of tries and a trade between the Jets and Patriots, Belichick was finally able to come to New England. The rest is history.
Bountygate
Year: 2011 - 2012
Case: Vilma et al vs NFL
Importance: Over the course of three seasons (2009-2011), the NFL found that the New Orleans Saints had been orchestrating a bounty system to purposely injur star players on opposing teams. In 2012, Jonathan Vilma and three other Saints players were suspended (Vilma for the entire 2012 season).
At the behest of Kessler, Vilma and seven other witnesses testified in front of a federal judge claiming that Commissioner Roger Goodell had false information regarding the bounty system and that these players were instructed by coaches and personel.
All of their suspensions were vacated in Fall of 2012, and Vilma (pictured) ended up playing in 11 games that season.
Ray Rice
Year: 2014
Case: Ray Rice and NFLPA vs NFL
Importance: Following accusations of beating his wife in an elevator, Ray Rice was indefinetly suspended by Goodell for the remainder of the 2014-2015 season and beyond. The NFLPA gave Kessler a call and within months Rice's suspension was vacated.
Photo Credit: "RayRice27" by Keith Allison - on Flickr
Adrian Peterson
Year: 2014
Case: Adrian Peterson and NFLPA vs NFL
Importance: Peterson was accused in May of 2014 for beating his son with a branch of a tree.
Kessler argued that because the incident occurred prior to the NFL's new conduct policy which was released in August 2014, Peterson should not be subject to it.
The case went to federal court and Peterson's suspension was vacated. He was reinstated on April 15, 2015.
Photo Credit: "Adrian Peterson 2010" by Mike Morbeck - Flickr
Deflategate
Year: 2015
Case: Tom Brady vs NFL (Pending)
Importance: It was recently announced that Tom Brady had hired Kessler to be part of his legal team in his defense in the Deflategate controversy. It is likely Brady appeals his four game suspension sometime today and then the legal process will begin.
