NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked pointedly on Tuesday why he or anyone in the league failed to correct the false data that was leaked to ESPN about New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the footballs used in the AFC championship game.
Goodell stood behind the league-commissioned investigation spearheaded by Ted Wells but failed to explain why the NFL allowed the Patriots to be vilified in the deflate-gate saga with air-pressure data that was grossly incorrect, which improperly pointed to a scandal deliberately overseen by Brady.
“First and foremost, we went to an independent investigation that week following the AFC championship game,” Goodell said.
(Author's aside: The NFL filed legal briefs last week that concluded that the investigation was truly not "independent," but we're used to this double-speak by now. Onward ...)
Goodell continued: “All of that focus was put to Ted Wells at that point in time, supporting him and cooperating with him fully [and] making sure he had any information he had. There was no more discussion about a public discussion.
"It was Ted Wells’ investigation. He had complete discretion on the timing, the scope, the amount of time that was necessary for him, who he spoke to — and we fully supported that. So we went along with that, and that was ultimately the decisions we made, and we issued our discipline shortly thereafter. And we’re in the middle of a CBA process now, and now litigation.”
The league had the opportunity to clear up the misinformation given to ESPN's Chris Mortensen — that 11 of the Patriots' 12 balls tested were two PSI or more under the allowed level, which was proven to be quite incorrect — because it had the real data well in advance of the Wells report being released.
It instead chose to idly stand by in the auspice of neutrality and so as to not obstruct Wells' investigation, but it's likely that the league knew it could say nothing and let that incriminating data — true or not — shape people's opinions against Brady, against whom they would eventually fight on the matter, that were not likely to change much even when Wells issued the correct numbers that were far, far less incriminating and inconclusive at best.
Goodell even doubled down on his CBA-given right to hear Brady's appeal — judge and appelate judge, if you will — and gave no indication the NFL plans to take that power away anytime soon.
“It’s important to the ownership,” Goodell said. “That’s my job; it’s my responsibility. I take it seriously.”
So here we are, and Goodell and Brady will meet again Wednesday in New York City. The purpose, as ordered by Judge Richard Berman, is for the NFLPA/Brady camp and the NFL to work out their differences over the four-game suspension handed down before the two sides head to court.
Goodell acknowledged he and the league will "cooperate fully" with the judge's request to work things out ahead of this case heading to federal court, even if that feels like a Hail Mary of sorts.
“That’s part of the process. Judge Berman has asked us to appear [Wednesday] and we will certainly do that," Goodell said of the mediation session. “We’ll allow the judge to handle the discussion from there.”
Judge Berman is not expected to appoint a magistrate and likely will guide the mediation himself. Short of any resolution on the matter, he'll render a decision on or before Sept. 4 — six days before the Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL season opener.
The NFL apparently never will admit it could have stopped deflate-gate in its tracks because why would it? In an offseason that has gone off the rails — and Tuesday's Geno Smith punchout led it further out into the rat's nest — the league can stand behind the madness of deflate-gate, fail to conduct a fair or balanced process to determine an outcome and there still will be football games to fall back on.
What a league.
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