The NFL may be asking Tom Brady to commit perjury

[Alan]

I hope this hasn't already been posted.
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/8/...deflategate-suspension-settlement-perjury-nfl
The NFL may be asking Tom Brady to commit perjury as part of a DeflateGate settlement
The NFL is reportedly insisting Tom Brady admit guilt as part of any settlement agreement. From a legal and PR perspective, that is a non-starter.

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Judge Richard Berman has ordered Tom Brady, the NFLPA and NFL to engage in "further good-faith settlement efforts." But the league doesn't appear to be following his instructions.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Wednesday one of the NFL's conditions for a settlement is that Brady admits guilt and accepts the Wells Report's findings that he was "at least generally aware" of Patriots employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally's alleged efforts to deflate footballs prior to the AFC Championship game. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reiterated Mortensen's report Thursday.

But Brady is not in a position to admit guilt. If he did, he would potentially open himself up to perjury charges.

In his appeal hearing with the NFL in June, Brady denied under oath that he has ever spoken to any Patriots employee about tampering with footballs after he's selected them.

Given how clearly Brady denied any knowledge of DeflateGate at the appeal hearing, asking him to acknowledge guilt seems to be a non-starter from a legal perspective -- never mind the PR hit he would almost certainly take if he accepted the Wells Report's findings after fighting them for months.

Brady's camp did concede some ground to the NFL in front of Judge Berman Wednesday. His attorney Jeffrey Kessler admitted Brady could've been more cooperative with Ted Wells' investigation and said Brady wouldn't be fighting the punishment if he was merely issued a fine for noncompliance. Kessler also said "it is conceivable" McNally thought deflating footballs after the referees had inspected them would be "good" for Brady.

But confessing that he knowingly played with deflated footballs in the AFC title game is a step too far for Brady. If the NFL continues to insist he admit guilt, the likelihood of a settlement seems to be non-existent.

 

[DR RAM]

He's a damn liar. Period. He would purger himself by lying under oath, not telling the truth. Innocent, people, don't run, generally. Innocent people don't destroy evidence, generally. Innocent people don't come back to the table with, my agent told me to do it. If he can't admit to being generally aware, to a lot of things, including knowing the employee, he's not only a jackass, but he's a space case.

Am I still bitter the NFL destroyed evidence of their cheating in our Superbowl? You are damn right.

 

[Boston Ram]

I just wish this story would go away, so sick of it.

 

[DR RAM]

I just wish this story would go away, so sick of it.

Me too, even if they reduce his suspension. So sick of hearing this, every dang day. There are 31 other teams, and countless players we could be hearing about.

 

[Dr C. Hill]

Why would he admit anything? He doesn't have to. He should just take his medicine and come back in week 5. That scumbag is so arrogant that he just can't let it go. I hope they do get him to admit to what he did though. That would blow the roof off of that entire corrupt organization!

 

[FrantikRam]

I just wish this story would go away, so sick of it.

Agreed.

People jumped on it because the Pats, and Brady, have had so much success. Truth is, it's really not that big of a deal. And when you really dive into this, there is really no actual proof. The Wells report has so many statements closely related to "could have" it's not even funny. Were this someone that was generally loved by Rams fans, we would be up in arms that someone is being punished with little actual proof against them.

 

[Rmfnlt]

If I'm reading this right, Brady's boxed himself into a corner.

IF he was contemplating a settlement (who knows... but, IF he was)... now, he can't take that road if the NFL stands on their demand that he admit some wrongdoing.

So... if the NFL stands pat, Brady either wins (more likely this thing drags out for years, like the judge said) or he serves the entire suspension.

Am I missing something here? Or is this a good thing (meaning a bad thing for Brady)...

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Anyeay you look at it
The Garroppolo era has begun

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

So what this now boils down to is that the Patriots organization wants everyone to believe that two rogue equipment managers deflated balls on their own accord?

What a joke.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Anyeay you look at it
The Garroppolo era has begun

It should have begun last season........with Garapolo as a Ram.

 

[Stranger]

Keywords on line 6: "have you ever asked"?
Brady's answer does not mean he never had a "conversation" about altering footballs, or altering the air pressure "inside" footballs.

Line 12: "after you've given them"
What does that mean? Again, the answer only applies to after "after you've given them"

Line 19-20: "after you've aproved it"
Again, extremely specific senarios are being cited here.

Overall, these questions are terrible, and allow Brady to drive a truck through his answers. Brady probably did NOT lie in his responses. But the questions along with the answers are terribly misleading to the uninitiated.

 

[Stranger]

Am I still bitter the NFL destroyed evidence of their cheating in our Superbowl? You are damn right.

bitter isn't a strong enough word to describe how I feel about it.

 

[CodeMonkey]

What a tangled web we weave...

 

[Mikey Ram]

I just wish this story would go away, so sick of it.

Brady seconds that...I admit I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought except that is an organization that seems to put themselves "above the law" as it were...That's what I'm even more sick of...But yeah, I'm looking at football starting tonight...

 

[Akrasian]

I want it to go away, as soon as Brady admits that he's a cheater, which will haunt him the rest of his life - okay, I don't really want it to go away.

 

[CodeMonkey]

 

[Faceplant]

Keywords on line 6: "have you ever asked"?
Brady's answer does not mean he never had a "conversation" about altering footballs, or altering the air pressure "inside" footballs.

Line 12: "after you've given them"
What does that mean? Again, the answer only applies to after "after you've given them"

Line 19-20: "after you've aproved it"
Again, extremely specific senarios are being cited here.

Overall, these questions are terrible, and allow Brady to drive a truck through his answers. Brady probably did NOT lie in his responses. But the questions along with the answers are terribly misleading to the uninitiated.

Perfectly stated. Those questions might as well have been written by Bellicheat. Wow. Vague much?