Deflategate is back

[Phishfan]

An appeals court overturned the earlier ruling and has said Tom Brady must server a suspension of four games (one against Miami).

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15353950/tom-brady-new-england-patriots-four-game-suspension-deflategate-reinstated-appeals-court

Do you think this puts an end to it or is this opening the discussion again?

[masterfins]

I think it's over, in that he'll have to serve the 4 game suspension. But... everyone will have to listen to Brady and Kraft whine for the next 9 months.

[dolphins4life]

I'm sure there will be another appeal to a higher court.

I wonder how far this could potentially go.  To the Supreme Court? 

[Dave Gray]

This is the end.  There's not enough time to appeal the appeal of the appeal.  He'll miss 4 games, whine and complain all year, and Belicheck will use it to motivate his team to be relentless down the stretch.

It's nice to get an easier shot at the Pats, though.  We'll need it.  Our front of our schedule is pretty brutal.

[Phishfan]

I'm sure there will be another appeal to a higher court.

I wonder how far this could potentially go.  To the Supreme Court? 

They likely don't have time as the Supreme Court is the next step and it takes a long time to get in front of them, if they agree to hear the case. I've heard that it is unlikely Brady could win an injunction to stay his suspension so the season will likely start with a suspended Brady before anyone else heard the case.

I fully expect that the suspension is going to be accepted but Brady & the Pats will try to convince the NFL to lower the number of games. The way this played out, I doubt Goddell has plans on doing that.

[dolphins4life]

I wish I could find the true facts of the case somewhere.   

[Pappy13]

This should have been last year. I honestly don't know what that judge was thinking when he ruled the way he did. You may not like Goodell's decision but it absolutely was his decision to make and he followed the proper procedure in making it, there was absolutely no reason to overule it, Brady should have had to abide by it. You want to change that NFLPA, go back to the bargaining table and take some of that power back, of course you'll have to give up something else like some money or something and you don't want to do that.

[fyo]

The next step isn't an appeal to a higher court. The next step is a petition for an en banc review, i.e. getting the case heard before the entire panel of judges and not just 3. This particular court has a reputation of being particularly stingy with respects to granting en banc reviews, though.

[dolphins4life]

This is not over yet, by any means.

I wish I could read the Wells Report, though. 

[fyo]

This is not over yet, by any means.

I wish I could read the Wells Report, though. 

This one?

https://nfllabor.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/investigative-and-expert-reports-re-footballs-used-during-afc-championsh.pdf

[dolphins4life]

So, you can suspend somebody based on "more probable than not"?

[fyo]

So, you can suspend somebody based on "more probable than not"?

Roger Goodell can suspend a player for anything he deems "detrimental conduct", pretty much regardless. That's what the players agreed to with the most recent CBA.

That said, the terminology in the Wells report is legalese. The phrases don't always mean exactly the same as they would in casual use.

"More likely than not" is pretty much the definition of "preponderance of the evidence", which is the standard used to determine "guilt" in most non-criminal court cases. (So, basically, the Wells Report would have found Brady "guilty", had it been a verdict in a civil trial).

"Beyond reasonable doubt" is very much ingrained in the public perception, but it is a very high standard and usually reserved for criminal cases.

I suggest a cursory reading of this page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_burden_of_proof

[Pappy13]

So, you can suspend somebody based on "more probable than not"?

Why don't you read the decision which is a hell of a lot more important then the Well's report. Brady was not suspended solely on the basis of the Well's report. He was suspended on the commissioner's belief he had participated in conduct detrimental to the NFL which includes Brady's refusal to cooperate in the Well's investigation.

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/experiments/usatoday/Sports/2016-04-25-tom-brady-suspension-appeal.pdf

[Spider-Dan]

On the bright side, MIA would have missed his suspension last year, but MIA gets it (on the road, even!) this year.

I wouldn't be surprised if MIA still manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but you takes what you can gets.

[dolphins4life]

Answer this question for me:

Is there a quarterback in the NFL, whom, if inserted into the New England lineup, would make the Patriots not favored against the Dolphins?  It does make the task much easier for them, though. 

Even with Jimmy G, the Dolphins still have to stop Gronk and that receiving corps.