#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[Jon]

Interesting argument by Kessler: ""Even the NFL...does not try to contend any player can be disciplined for being aware of someone else’s conduct."

That might pull the rug out on all of this: does this mean that the NFL can now go after any player who was "generally aware" that their teammate was using steroids or stickum on his gloves? 

[KeepRondo]

Some of you guys are forgetting evidence like this -

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: [Expletive] tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week

[Donoghus]

This "play by play" is pretty amazing to read.

Never thought court could be so entertaining. 

[PhoSita]

So far I think I like this judge.

[PhoSita]

Some of you guys are forgetting evidence like this -

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: [Expletive] tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week

Evidence of what?  That these two guys are knuckleheads who like to talk crap about one of their bosses?

Very easy to construct a plausible context for those texts that doesn't involve any intentional rule breaking by Brady.

It's obvious from the transcript of the hearing back in June that Brady is very particular about how the footballs are prepared.  He probably is not an entirely easy guy to work for in that regard.  So it wouldn't surprise me at all if these guys like to blow off steam by complaining about it and joking about messing with the balls to get back at Tom.

[kozlodoev]

Some of you guys are forgetting evidence like this -

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: [Expletive] tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week

Evidence of what?  That these two guys are knuckleheads who like to talk crap about one of their bosses?

Very easy to construct a plausible context for those texts that doesn't involve any intentional rule breaking by Brady.

It's obvious from the transcript of the hearing back in June that Brady is very particular about how the footballs are prepared.  He probably is not an entirely easy guy to work for in that regard.  So it wouldn't surprise me at all if these guys like to blow off steam by complaining about it and joking about messing with the balls to get back at Tom.

It's also not implausible they were willing to go the extra mile and tamper to please TB even without being specifically instructed to do so. Although I suspect if this were the case, they'd been thrown under the bus by now.

[Donoghus]

That Twitter account gained about 21,000 new followers this morning.  Pretty impressive.

If you're on the Brady side of things, I can't imagine you're too disappointed on how things went.

If you're on the NFL side, well....  not so much.

[PhoSita]

As the reporter pointed out, it sounds like very little that was talked about was actually the legally relevant stuff.

The biggest part was the discussion of holding players accountable for awareness of the conduct of other people.  All the judge needs to do is find that there is no basis in the CBA for disciplining players on that basis and Brady will be in a great spot.

[KeepRondo]

Some of you guys are forgetting evidence like this -

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: [Expletive] tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week

Evidence of what?  That these two guys are knuckleheads who like to talk crap about one of their bosses?

Very easy to construct a plausible context for those texts that doesn't involve any intentional rule breaking by Brady.

It's obvious from the transcript of the hearing back in June that Brady is very particular about how the footballs are prepared.  He probably is not an entirely easy guy to work for in that regard.  So it wouldn't surprise me at all if these guys like to blow off steam by complaining about it and joking about messing with the balls to get back at Tom.

It's also not implausible they were willing to go the extra mile and tamper to please TB even without being specifically instructed to do so. Although I suspect if this were the case, they'd been thrown under the bus by now.

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

[KeepRondo]

BTW I am rooting for Brady. I just think he was in on this.

[PhoSita]

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

Except that it's established that Brady does that sort of thing all of the time.  Unless you think he's bribing everybody in the workplace with gifts and autographs.


I think it's entirely possible Brady was in on this, though again, I think it's silly to make any sort of deal out of it because I think the majority of QBs in the league are involved in such things.

The point is, though, that the evidence doesn't really establish what the NFL claims it does.  The evidence they've presented has many plausible explanations, one of which is that Brady was involved in a conspiracy to deflate game balls.

[knuckleballer]

Some of you guys are forgetting evidence like this -

Jastremski: I have a big needle for u this week
McNally: Better be surrounded by cash and newkicks….or its a rugby sunday
McNally: [Expletive] tom
Jastremski: Maybe u will have some nice size 11s in ur locker
McNally: Tom must really be working your balls hard this week

Evidence of what?  That these two guys are knuckleheads who like to talk crap about one of their bosses?

Very easy to construct a plausible context for those texts that doesn't involve any intentional rule breaking by Brady.

It's obvious from the transcript of the hearing back in June that Brady is very particular about how the footballs are prepared.  He probably is not an entirely easy guy to work for in that regard.  So it wouldn't surprise me at all if these guys like to blow off steam by complaining about it and joking about messing with the balls to get back at Tom.

It's also not implausible they were willing to go the extra mile and tamper to please TB even without being specifically instructed to do so. Although I suspect if this were the case, they'd been thrown under the bus by now.

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

Pretty sure that if I was exectuting a risky scheme to help someone worth $150 million cheat at their profession, I'd want more than a pair of sneaks.

[kozlodoev]

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

1. The alleged consideration ("new kicks") that McNally received came from Jastremski.
2. It's hard to argue that something done relatively routinely, such as signing stuff for an employee, constitutes "random gift".

[knuckleballer]

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

1. The alleged consideration ("new kicks") that McNally received came from Jastremski.
2. It's hard to argue that something done relatively routinely, such as signing stuff for an employee, constitutes "random gift".

It's also kind of odd that they would be so careless to discuss the payoff, but so careful to not once mention that they were deflating footballs.

[Moranis]

So then why was it implied there was a reward for the ballboy who did end up being rewarded after the game?

It's hard to believe it was a random gift with all the other suspicious texts and activities going on.

1. The alleged consideration ("new kicks") that McNally received came from Jastremski.
2. It's hard to argue that something done relatively routinely, such as signing stuff for an employee, constitutes "random gift".

It's also kind of odd that they would be so careless to discuss the payoff, but so careful to not once mention that they were deflating footballs.

that isn't really that odd