Update on “Deflategate”

The New England Patriots played the Pittsburg Steelers for the NFL season opener. Tom Brady played. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t in attendance. Goodell watched the game at home. Were deflated footballs there? We can only wonder.

If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest reality-drama-soap opera scandal called “Deflategate,” here’s the run down. The New England Patriots were accused of letting the air out of footballs used during the game after the 2014 AFC Championship game. The deflated footballs went against league rules.

A league investigation discovered air was let out of the footballs by New England Patriot staff. There was also evidence that Quarterback Tom Brady was more than likely directly or indirectly involved in tampering with the footballs. He was allegedly uncooperative with investigators, to the point of getting rid of his cell phone.

Brady was suspended four games without pay for the 2015 season. The team was sanctioned. The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, appealed Brady’s suspension on May 14. The decision was upheld. The NFLPA filed an injunction to prevent the NFL from enforcing the suspension. The lawsuit was moved to the Southern District of New York.

Brady won. The NFL will appeal on September 3.

Many of Brady supporters claim this wasn’t a showdown between the NFL and Brady, but between Goodell and players. From Ray Rice to Adrian Peterson and Tom Brady, there’s contention over how much power the commissioner has.

The real question may not be whether Goodell has too much power. Instead, the focus should be if the last collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and players gave Goodell too much power.

Collective bargaining refers to negotiations between unions and employers to determine the conditions of employment. When unions and employers agree on terms, they enter into a collective bargaining agreement. The agreement binds the employer to obey certain conditions of employment for a specific timeframe.

Article 46

The commissioner’s current authority comes from Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement. The Article specifies the commissioner can hand out any punishment which is detrimental to:

• The integrity of the game
• Public confidence in the game

It also gave the commissioner permission to hear player appeals on any punishment. In other words, there was a lot of harsh discussion among Brady supporters about Goodell not recusing himself from Brady’s appeal. He wasn’t acting badly or out to get Brady. Goodell was acting within the rights given to him in the collective bargaining agreement.

Abuse of Power or More Players Behaving Badly

Granted, the commissioner’s broad powers haven’t changed since Pet Rozelle held the job in 1969. What has changed since that time is the new personal conduct policy instituted in 2007. Although it seems like a large number, only one to two percent of the NFL players have been punished under this policy. Whether it’s Brady or Peterson, Goodel looks to be using his authority to level suspends and fines. Prior to 2011, many players deemed to be acting badly received fines.

What most may not understand is that Goodell doesn’t have unchecked power. The NFLPA has actually used the language in the collective bargaining agreement to win appeals just like in the Brady case. The last appeal a player won occurred when a former federal judge overruled the indefinite suspension levied on Rice for a domestic violence issue.

Back to Brady

Brady and the Patroits won their season opener for the 2015 season. Will Goodell and the NFL win their appeal? Maybe. Well, if the commissioner can prove Brady needed small balls to win games and coordinated an effort to deflate them. For now it looks like the most interesting game of the football season is happening off the field.