PFT Explains How Tom Brady Can Play Without Winning Appeal
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Though springtime has seemingly barely begun in New England, the reality is that the train is already barreling down the tracks toward the start of the 2016 NFL season. And while some teams may be entering their offseason programs with some question marks at the quarterback situation, there's no team with as unique a set of circumstances as the New England Patriots.
Tom Brady (you may have heard) is technically suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season, a punishment which was avoided last season due to Judge Richard Berman's decision in federal court but was reinstated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals last month. Yet since that ruling came down on April 25, it has distinctly felt like the Brady camp was not caught off guard and thus had a plan in place to ensure that Brady would not be missing any time come September.
Well, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio stepped up Tuesday and laid out the blueprint for how Brady, the NFLPA and high-power lawyer Ted Olson hope to accomplish that goal.
The first and most obvious course of action will come between now and May 23, when Brady's side will request a rehearing en banc by the entire Second Circuit. While the argument could be made that this case is the exception to the rule, the fact remains that en banc rehearing are rarely granted. So, it's best for Brady's camp to have a backup plan or two.
Per Florio, the first backup plan would be to request a stay of the extension to the Second Circuit while a petition to the Supreme Court was being prepared. In his written request for an extension for the appeal window, Olson may have tipped his hand in how he would petition the Supreme Court to take the case when he wrote, "... the Court's decision raises significant labor law issues that could have far-reaching consequences for all employees subject to collective bargaining agreements. ... These aspects of the Court's opinion are of great importance not only to NFL players, but to all unionized employees."
Whatever that theoretical petition may or may not entail, the Brady camp would, according to Florio, request a stay of suspension from the Supreme Court in the interim. A stay would postpone the suspension until a later ruling was made.
RELATED: How Tom Brady Can Appeal To Second Circuit For Rehearing En Banc
And, again per Florio, if the Second Circuit denies that request for a stay of suspension, Brady could file the same request to the Supreme Court justice who is assigned to cases of the Second Circuit, which in this case would be Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
"Bottom line? Even if the Second Circuit refuses to take any further action and the U.S. Supreme Court later refuses to consider the case at all, Justice Ginsburg becomes the key to keeping Brady on the field through issuance of the Supreme Court's decision not to take up the case, which if she issues the stay means that Brady likely wouldn't be suspended until 2017 at the earliest."
Given the absurd ends to which this case has already been taken, it seems only right for its fate to eventually lie in the hands of an 83-year-old Supreme Court justice who's drawn comparisons to the Notorious B.I.G. for her own fiery way of interpreting the law and upholding the Constitution of the United States. It would be the next logical step for a case that exceeded the realm of believability many moons ago.
