Falcons owner Blank: Brady ruling ‘unhealthy’ for league
Falcons owner Arthur Blank is not happy with federal judge Richard Berman ruling against the NFL in the Deflategate case.
Berman vacated on Thursday the league's four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his alleged role in the scandal, which took place during last season's AFC championship game.
“It’s not healthy for the NFL to be in the kind of litigious position that it’s been for last several years,” Blank said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I think that the commissioner is working hard to hold up the respect and integrity of the game, the competitive balance of the game and the shield. Having said that, I think we have to find ways to get to a better place sooner with the NFLPA than the process that we’ve gone through.”
Berman concluded that commissioner Roger Goodell's investigation into New England's use of deflated footballs had “several significant legal deficiencies.” The NFL is currently appealing the ruling. Brady is set to suit up in Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday.
• MORE: NFL files appeal of Brady ruling
Blank felt the commissioner's power was impeded by the court, and that change could be in order.
“This Deflategate thing which isn’t about Deflategate any longer, it’s about what has been collectively negotiated for decades in terms of the commissioner’s responsibility in terms of disciplining players,” Blank said. “If we have to look at that differently in today’s light, in today’s environment, as an ownership group we should be prepared to do that. The commissioner should be prepared to do that.”
However, according to the Journal-Constitution, Blank didn't appear to agree with the idea of the NFL appealing.
“I would have rather seen it end with a positive ruling for the NFL,” Blank said. “I understand why the commissioner and the league feel as strongly as it does about trying to protect the rights that for decades have been collectively bargained. I think that is important.”
- Jeremy Woo
