John Dowd CNN, former federal prosecutor asks a question
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John Dowd CNN, former federal prosecutor asks a question
by guppy Sat Aug 08, 2015 1:34 pm
John M. Dowd served as Special Counsel to three commissioners of Major League Baseball in the investigations of Pete Rose, George Steinbrenner, and others. As a federal prosecutor, he conducted the internal investigation of the FBI and of Congressman Dan Flood of Pennsylvania.
John Dowd's article on CNN:
Was Tom Brady Ambushed?
(CNN)Football, baseball, soccer and virtually every sport on the planet have one thing in common: They all have rules that are supposed to protect the integrity of the game. When rules get broken, everyone loses.
But when sports authorities don't enforce their own rules with transparency and fairness, the integrity of the game is equally compromised. What's happening today with the NFL undermines the concepts of integrity and fairness in the application of the rules and threatens to damage football's credibility for years to come.
The NFL's investigation of and rulings against Tom Brady, the NFL's finest quarterback, are a travesty, and they've resulted in uncalled-for penalties. And it's all based on a report that lacks basic integrity, fairness and credibility.
By way of background, it is not clear what this controversy is actually about. It appears the NFL permitted each team, with their assigned teams of officials, to set the pressure in the footballs. The NFL, unlike Major League Baseball, did not protect the integrity of the ball pressure by keeping the balls at all times in the custody of the officials, thus inviting controversy. The reports also indicate that weather conditions can affect the ball pressure.
There is no evidence that Tom Brady told anyone to deflate the balls below the 12.5 psi limit at any time in any game. The new NFL standard of "more probable than not," which, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the league never notified players of, is guesswork. But guessing with the life, liberty and fortune of the NFL's best quarterback -- or any player for that matter -- has no place in any professional sport.
In any event, there is no credible claim or evidence that deflation of the balls affected the performance on the field. Even the NFL's official investigator concluded in his own report that [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] after the ball was inflated. From the beginning, we know that whatever is claimed to have happened did not affect the outcome of the game, and that the Patriots were the superior team in the AFC Championship game. So, the investigation revolves around nothing significant to the integrity of the game.
Furthermore, there has been no convincing explanation from the NFL or its three law firms as to why this investigation took five months to complete. Justice delayed is justice denied. The delay creates prejudice and gives the appearance of sour grapes and a witch-hunt against the championship team. One would have expected the NFL to be able to complete a thorough investigation between the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl to assure the public and players that there should be no concern. Instead, we were treated to months of delay and an unnecessary soap opera.
On July 28, 2015, after a six-month investigation, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Tom Brady's appeal with the baseless claim that Brady had not cooperated with the NFL's investigators by destroying his cell phone and must therefore suffer the penalty of suspension. In fact, neither the commissioner nor his three law firms ever told Brady that failure to produce his phone would be viewed as a separate charge of obstruction. Indeed, in the hearing, Brady testified that if he had been aware of that claim, he would have turned over his cell phone -- and in fact he did turn over the telephone's materials. The fact is the NFL [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
By [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the league effectively set Brady up for an ambush when he was unable to produce it upon appeal. By failing to notify Brady that not producing his phone would result in discipline for non-cooperation, the league denied him his fundamental right to a notice of charge and the right to defend against it. And by repeatedly shifting its goal posts on what was expected of him -- and what could be used against him -- the NFL's investigation lost its fairness and integrity.
No player has ever been suspended for failing to cooperate before. Brett Favre [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] over his alleged failure to cooperate with his sexual harassment case in 2010 and that's it. A four-game suspension for failure to cooperate remains totally unprecedented and arbitrary. There were no rules to the road in terms of what Brady and team could have expected for failing to cooperate EVEN IF they had made a calculated decision to do so. The announcement by the commissioner blindsided Tom Brady with a charge he had no opportunity to confront.
The NFL's fundamental failure to conduct an expeditious, fair, honest and consistent approach to rules enforcement undermines the entire game. The league needs to reconsider its suspension of Tom Brady, and use this unfortunate episode as an opportunity to correct a terrible injustice to one the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
To answer the question posed in the article's title: YES HE WAS!
John Dowd's article on CNN:
Was Tom Brady Ambushed?
(CNN)Football, baseball, soccer and virtually every sport on the planet have one thing in common: They all have rules that are supposed to protect the integrity of the game. When rules get broken, everyone loses.
But when sports authorities don't enforce their own rules with transparency and fairness, the integrity of the game is equally compromised. What's happening today with the NFL undermines the concepts of integrity and fairness in the application of the rules and threatens to damage football's credibility for years to come.
The NFL's investigation of and rulings against Tom Brady, the NFL's finest quarterback, are a travesty, and they've resulted in uncalled-for penalties. And it's all based on a report that lacks basic integrity, fairness and credibility.
By way of background, it is not clear what this controversy is actually about. It appears the NFL permitted each team, with their assigned teams of officials, to set the pressure in the footballs. The NFL, unlike Major League Baseball, did not protect the integrity of the ball pressure by keeping the balls at all times in the custody of the officials, thus inviting controversy. The reports also indicate that weather conditions can affect the ball pressure.
There is no evidence that Tom Brady told anyone to deflate the balls below the 12.5 psi limit at any time in any game. The new NFL standard of "more probable than not," which, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the league never notified players of, is guesswork. But guessing with the life, liberty and fortune of the NFL's best quarterback -- or any player for that matter -- has no place in any professional sport.
In any event, there is no credible claim or evidence that deflation of the balls affected the performance on the field. Even the NFL's official investigator concluded in his own report that [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] after the ball was inflated. From the beginning, we know that whatever is claimed to have happened did not affect the outcome of the game, and that the Patriots were the superior team in the AFC Championship game. So, the investigation revolves around nothing significant to the integrity of the game.
Furthermore, there has been no convincing explanation from the NFL or its three law firms as to why this investigation took five months to complete. Justice delayed is justice denied. The delay creates prejudice and gives the appearance of sour grapes and a witch-hunt against the championship team. One would have expected the NFL to be able to complete a thorough investigation between the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl to assure the public and players that there should be no concern. Instead, we were treated to months of delay and an unnecessary soap opera.
On July 28, 2015, after a six-month investigation, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Tom Brady's appeal with the baseless claim that Brady had not cooperated with the NFL's investigators by destroying his cell phone and must therefore suffer the penalty of suspension. In fact, neither the commissioner nor his three law firms ever told Brady that failure to produce his phone would be viewed as a separate charge of obstruction. Indeed, in the hearing, Brady testified that if he had been aware of that claim, he would have turned over his cell phone -- and in fact he did turn over the telephone's materials. The fact is the NFL [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
By [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the league effectively set Brady up for an ambush when he was unable to produce it upon appeal. By failing to notify Brady that not producing his phone would result in discipline for non-cooperation, the league denied him his fundamental right to a notice of charge and the right to defend against it. And by repeatedly shifting its goal posts on what was expected of him -- and what could be used against him -- the NFL's investigation lost its fairness and integrity.
No player has ever been suspended for failing to cooperate before. Brett Favre [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] over his alleged failure to cooperate with his sexual harassment case in 2010 and that's it. A four-game suspension for failure to cooperate remains totally unprecedented and arbitrary. There were no rules to the road in terms of what Brady and team could have expected for failing to cooperate EVEN IF they had made a calculated decision to do so. The announcement by the commissioner blindsided Tom Brady with a charge he had no opportunity to confront.
The NFL's fundamental failure to conduct an expeditious, fair, honest and consistent approach to rules enforcement undermines the entire game. The league needs to reconsider its suspension of Tom Brady, and use this unfortunate episode as an opportunity to correct a terrible injustice to one the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
To answer the question posed in the article's title: YES HE WAS!
Last edited by guppy on Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:09 pm; edited 2 times in total
guppy- 1st Round Pick
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Re: John Dowd CNN, former federal prosecutor asks a question
by George1963 Sat Aug 08, 2015 8:04 pm
The new NFL standard of "more probable than not," which, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the league never notified players of, is guesswork. But guessing with the life, liberty and fortune of the NFL's best quarterback -- or any player for that matter -- has no place in any professional sport.
"New" standard? It's 7 years old. The NFL never notified me of it either. I read about it in the paper.
In any event, they ALL know about "integrity of the game".
Guppy, seriously. Do you see what's going on now? This isn't about Brady anymore. This is about D Smith trying to bleach out the blood in his shorts from the 2011 CBA.
"New" standard? It's 7 years old. The NFL never notified me of it either. I read about it in the paper.
In any event, they ALL know about "integrity of the game".
Guppy, seriously. Do you see what's going on now? This isn't about Brady anymore. This is about D Smith trying to bleach out the blood in his shorts from the 2011 CBA.
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Re: John Dowd CNN, former federal prosecutor asks a question
by guppy Mon Aug 10, 2015 11:14 am
George1963 wrote:
Guppy, seriously. Do you see what's going on now? This isn't about Brady anymore.
All the more reason to "Free" him from this despicable, disgraceful, wrongful conviction.
guppy- 1st Round Pick
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Re: John Dowd CNN, former federal prosecutor asks a question
by guppy Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:06 pm
"Roger Goodell's Manipulation of Tom Brady's testimony leaves the NFL on a Slippery Slope"
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
You would think that with the veritable FLOOD of articles coming out against Goodell and the NFL over WitchHuntGate or FrameGate, whichever name you think fits better, that he would have a mental break down and jump off a cliff. But I suppose when you make $850,000 PER WEEK, you don't give a crap about anybody or anything.
When Antonio Cromartie sounds more intelligent than Roger Goodell the embarrassment to the league is off the charts.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
You would think that with the veritable FLOOD of articles coming out against Goodell and the NFL over WitchHuntGate or FrameGate, whichever name you think fits better, that he would have a mental break down and jump off a cliff. But I suppose when you make $850,000 PER WEEK, you don't give a crap about anybody or anything.
When Antonio Cromartie sounds more intelligent than Roger Goodell the embarrassment to the league is off the charts.
guppy- 1st Round Pick
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