NFL ‘Deflategate’ judge stuck with case with no agreement

NEW YORK – New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell haven’t yet resolved their fight over the player’s four-game “Deflategate” suspension despite encouragement from a judge to settle.

Following separate, private sessions with both sides Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said in court that he’s open to suggestions to resolve the dispute and expects Brady, Goodell and their lawyers will take another 15 minutes to 20 minutes to take “another stab at seeing if there is a basis for mutual resolution of their case.”

It takes on average two years to resolve a civil case through litigation, Berman said. “Nobody here wants to wait that long.”

Goodell arrived at the courthouse in lower Manhattan before Brady, with several spectators shouting “liar” as he entered.

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Brady came in a Chevrolet SUV with a flashing red and blue light on the dash. Across the street, two men wore jerseys with Brady’s number 12, while nine other people lined barricades wearing hats made to look like deflated footballs on their heads.

Brady was suspended after an investigation that determined he probably knew that team employees deflated game balls below the minimum required by league rules before last season’s conference championship game, which the Patriots won 45-7 over the Indianapolis Colts.

Brady, who denied any wrongdoing, has said he prefers to throw deflated footballs. A deflated football is easier to grip when passing. Goodell rejected Brady’s appeal of the suspension.

The league sued the union to confirm Goodell’s decision and the union countersued to reverse it. Both sides asked Berman to resolve the fight before the Patriots’ Sept. 10 season opener. From the start, the judge pushed both sides to consider settlement. He increased the pressure on both men by ordering them to appear in court in person to discuss a possible deal.

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