Hurley On Toucher & Rich: Would One-Game Suspension Work Best For Brady, Goodell?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady's appeal has been heard by Roger Goodell, and now the world must wait for the commissioner to make his decision.
While it's hard to state with great confidence what Goodell will ultimately decide, CBSBostonSports.com's Michael Hurley joined Toucher & Rich to lay out potential scenarios.
"I think a lot of it depends on the tenor of those meetings, which we obviously aren't privy to on the outside," Hurley said. "But if [Brady's attorney Jeffrey] Kessler and the NFLPA made it clear that 'We're going for zero games or nothing,' then I think it makes sense for Goodell to just keep it at four games. Because why lessen your decision, why say 'I made a poor decision and I'm adjusting it now,' when you know that it's going to go to court, and that's going to be used against you, where you already admitted that you overreacted, that you were too harsh with your punishment?"
Hurley said that even though there may not be any evidence against Brady, the quarterback may still find a one-game suspension more preferable than a court battle that could take months to conclude.
"I'm not sure Brady is someone who wants to spend the next year with this court case hanging over him. I don't think he wants to be photographed going into court, I don't think he wants this story to live for another year," Hurley said. "I think if they can lessen it to [one game], it might be something he ultimately disagrees with but to have it go away Sept. 10 and be done with is something that I think might work for him."
Also of note was Brady opting to testify under oath on Tuesday. Though it was not a court of law, that sworn testimony could come back into play if Brady and his lawyers were to take the case to court.
"Brady's sworn testimony being what it is ... that was sort of a challenge, saying, 'Take us to court. We already have this. What do you have? Are you going to share your emails and your texts with Ted Wells?'" Hurley said.
Ultimately, what punishment will Brady get?
"I think he's going to get one game," Hurley said. "Because that way, Goodell avoids court, and Brady avoids spending the next 12 months with this linger over his head."
Listen to the full interview with Michael Hurley, which also covered Adolfo Gonzalez's Wallach head in New York, below:
