The NFL Finally Admits In Court That The Wells Report Was A Witch Hunt As Well As Another Bombshell
1. While the NFLPA amplifies criticism of Goodell as inherently unfair, the NFL insists that it doesn’t matter whether Ted Wells was independent. In its brief, the NFL correctly stresses that Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement lacks any language that compels an “independent” investigation. Therefore, the NFL reasons, the league had no legal obligation to provide Brady with an independent investigation. The likely problem for the NFL in making this argument is that the NFL has consistently assured Brady, the NFLPA and the public of Wells’s independence. Consider the NFL’s statementon Jan. 23, 2015 announcing the hiring of Wells: “Mr. Wells and his firm bring additional expertise and a valuable independent perspective.” Also take a look at Goodell’s statement from May 6, 2015, when he praised Wells: “I want to express my appreciation to Ted Wells and his colleagues for performing a thorough and independent investigation.”
2. The NFL argues that Tom Brady is being punished for misconduct far worse than “general awareness.” In its brief filed Friday night, the NFL insists that in spite of the Wells Report finding that Brady was “generally aware” of an alleged ball deflation scheme, Goodell did not punish Brady for being generally aware. Instead, according to the NFL, Brady was punished for far worse misdeeds: Brady allegedly “approved of, consented to, and provided inducements in support of . . . a scheme to tamper with the game balls” and “willfully obstructed” the league’s Deflategate investigation. Given Brady’s categorical denials while under oath to these accusations and the absence of tangible NFL evidence disproving Brady’s denials, it is hard to understand how Goodell reached these conclusions.
First of all I guess I should use the term bombshell loosely. As I’ve said from the beginning only brain dead morons thought the Wells Report was an independent investigation. The real bombshell here is that Roger Goodell has finally been forced to admit in a court of law that he is a liar. That there was nothing independent about the Wells Report despite him claiming the opposite for months. Roger Goodell has finally been forced to admit that it was a witch hunt.
The other bombshell here is that Roger Goodell is saying he is punishing Brady for crimes far greater than general awareness. Think about that for a minute. So even though Ted Wells was paid 3 million dollars and spent almost 6 months to prove Brady was guilty he still couldn’t do it. He didn’t find 1 shred of evidence. Yet somehow Roger Goodell is openly admitting he is punishing Brady like they caught him putting the pins in the football himself during the huddle. It’s insanity. Why even have the Wells Investigation in the first place? Brady was already declared guilty 1 second after this scandal broke and before the NFL even knew what the Ideal Gas Law meant.
So I guess the nuts and bolts of this court case is this. Roger Goodell clearly thinks he can do whatever he wants. He can lie, steal, frame, cheat etc. He’s done ALL of these things and more in this case. That’s not me being the voice of reason anymore. The NFL has admitted it. But Goodell still says the NFLPA gave him unilateral power to do whatever he wants and there is nothing anybody can do about it. Doesn’t matter if he lied about the Wells Report. It doesn’t matter that there is no proof Brady is guilty. IT DOESN’T MATTER THE FOOTBALLS WEREN’T EVEN DEFLATED. He’s Fuher Goodell. He can suspend anybody for anything he wants whenever he feels like it. If he feels like kicking you out of the league because he doesn’t like you he can do it.
Bottomline is other teams were sick of the Patriots winning so he decided to suspend Tom Brady for nothing. Just to make vanquished rivals feel better about their lives. There are no checks and balances in place to block this gross abuse of power. The NFL believes they are sovereign country that doesn’t have to grant players basic constitutional rights like due process. Their entire case is that the NFLPA made a deal with the devil and forfeited the rights every American citizen enjoys. That’s essentially what this court case boils down to. Is it legal for Roger Goodell to act like Hitler?