The NFL miscalculated.
It didn’t really think the scolded New England Patriots were going to take their deflated footballs and go home, did it?
Last week, commissioner Roger Goodell did what 31 other teams couldn’t last season: beat the Patriots in a high-stakes game. The cost of that victory continues to mount as the legal eagles swirl.
As expected, quarterback Tom Brady, the face of the NFL, appealed his four-game suspension. The Patriots issued a 20,000-word rebuttal of the league’s ruling, which included a record $1 million fine and the stripping of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft.
This is just like old times. This is the league I remember when growing up. A marquee franchise — the Raiders — rejoicing in its enemies. Raiders owner Al Davis loved conflict, especially with commissioners. The Patriots aren’t the Raiders yet, but they appear prepared to pull a patch over their eyes.
WATCH:
They are poised to scorch the earth in their defense. This should worry NFL teams. One thing I have learned about the Patriots’ punishment is that clubs aren’t universally releasing party balloons. There is a feeling that it was excessive. Not because the acts didn’t deserve discipline, but because all clubs have skeletons locked away.
Instead, the league finds itself in an untenable position: at war with the Super Bowl champions, with Goodell choosing to hear the case himself.
Of course, Brady wants a neutral arbiter. The league and the union have been at odds for months over this topic as it related to resolutions in personal conduct policy cases. Now, it shifts to an on-field issue. Not good for business.
The absurdity of Goodell’s power takes center stage at a time when no other commissioner has less credibility with the public. How the NFLPA ever agreed through collective bargaining to let Goodell act as judge and jury in player discipline boggles the mind. Former Major League Baseball union chief Donald Fehr would prevent commissioner Bud Selig from passing judgment on a player’s uniform.
So it stands. Goodell vs. Patriots.
This goes beyond irritating tension. This is a confrontation that likely will end up in federal court. Until then, some gallows humor. The Patriots will know quickly if the tenor has changed in the process.
It will be going well for Brady and crew if: Goodell opens questioning of Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally by saying, “You look good. Have you lost weight?”
It won’t be going well if: Goodell asks McNally, while in FBI witness relocation, whether he prefers to live in a football-shaped igloo in Alaska or in a log cabin in Montana.
It will be going well if: Goodell tells Brady, “Texts, smexts, all I want to see are your family photos from that cliff-diving vacation in Costa Rica.”
It won’t be going well if: Goodell demands all relevant texts and announces during the proceedings, “I plan to have my feet on the ground and my head in your iCloud.”
It will be going well if: Goodell asks whether Patriots owner Robert Kraft can serve bacon-wrapped asparagus at his next house party.
It won’t be going well if: Goodell says, “Have we met before? Bob, Bob Baffert? You race horses? You know Wes Welker?”
Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or
