There seems to be a gaping hole in the NFL’s case against Tom Brady, and U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman has taken notice.
The NFL contends the New England Patriots quarterback was “generally aware” of football deflation, yet any circumstantial evidence Brady was “generally aware” of nefarious deeds only relates to regular-season games, not the Jan. 18 AFC Championship Game. It was the alleged actions taken in that game, remember, for which Brady was suspended four games.
When NFL Players Association lawyer Jeffrey Kessler pointed out during a settlement conference Wednesday at the U.S. District Court in New York that players can’t be punished for being generally aware, Berman “nodded vigorously,” CSNNE.com’s Tom E. Curran reported.
Berman asked Kessler if Brady could be fined under the equipment policy, according to Curran.
“Yes, but the ‘generally aware’ problem trumps that,” Kessler responded, via Curran.
Berman then came in with the dagger against the NFL.
“I read that and find that the ‘general awareness’ doesn’t relate to the Jan. 18 game,” Berman said.
Kessler also poked holes in Exponent’s PSI data in the Wells Report, calling it “angels dancing on the head of a pin,” Curran reported.
“Mr. McNally went into the bathroom to lower PSI one- or two-tenths,” Kessler said in court, according to Curran. “That’s like being pulled over for going one or two miles over the speed limit and the officer saying he concluded that by counting, ‘One Mississippi, two Mississippi …’ ”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
