Deflategate judge: Tom Brady's alleged actions not like steroid use
The judge in the Deflategate matter says that Tom Brady's alleged actions were not like steroid use despite what Roger Goodell said.
By
Will Brinson
•
1 min read
One of the wilder headlines coming out of Roger Goodell's appeal ruling of the Deflategate matter was his saying the "closest parallel" to Tom Brady's alleged behavior was "steroid use." It felt like an apples-to-oranges comparison and Judge Richard Berman agreed.
Berman pointedly discussed Goodell's comparison of steroids and Brady's issues (alleged ball deflation and failure to cooperate).
The steroid policy, according to Berman, is sui generis, Latin to mean "of its own class" or "unique." Read another way: the steroid policy exists by itself and "cannot be reasonably used as a comparator" for the allegations against Brady.
The league's decision to make this comparison hurt it in the court of law, largely because there was almost no explanation provided by NFL attorneys in the oral arguments in front of Berman.
The lack of the league's ability to answer how Brady's alleged behavior actually compared to steroid use didn't sit well with the court and Berman ruled "the award offers no scientific, empirical, or historical evidence of any comparability" between the two.
And, once again: lack of notice comes into play. Berman ruled Brady couldn't have reasonably known he'd be punished the same as a steroid user for allegedly deflating balls.
