Goodell Says No DeflateGate Settlement Talks Between Brady, NFL
BOSTON (CBS) -- In what should come as absolutely no shock to anyone, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said there are no settlement talks between the league and Tom Brady's team of lawyers when it comes to the DeflateGate saga.
"As I said, we've had all those discussions," Goodell told reporters on Monday. "We've had settlement discussions over the past year. At this stage, no, right now we're moving forward. The courts will make their decisions and we'll move forward on that basis."
"When it comes to the integrity of the game, that's the responsibility of the commissioner, and we're not gonna hand that integrity of the game off to somebody that doesn't have any involvement in the game," Goodell added. "That's for somebody that understands what is important in making sure we maintain that. Maintain the competitive[ness] of our game. And the reality is, our rules apply to everybody. They apply to every player, every team, and that's something we're going to work hard to maintain and not hand that off to somebody else."
Goodell made the comments at a charity golf event put on by former Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly. Those comments no doubt put a smile on the face of Bills head coach Rex Ryan.
The DeflateGate saga reached 500 days last week, and there is no clear end in sight. Goodell was asked if the situation is getting a bit embarrassing for all of those involved, and called the drawn out process of the whole controversy "unfortunate."
"The legal system is deliberate, if you want to put it that way," he said. "And it's unfortunate, because it does impact on our game. We don't encourage that, obviously, and we'd like to get this resolved and move forward."
Brady's four-game suspension was reinstated by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in April, a decision Brady has appealed. The Patriots quarterback is currently awaiting the 2nd District Court of Appeals' decision on whether or not he'll receive an en banc hearing on the matter.
