Judge Berman has declared the public part of the hearing over, though he’s meeting separately with Brady and Goodell to continue settlement discussions in private.
The public part of the meeting lasted more than an hour after an initial round of private meetings with each side.
— The Associated Press
Rachel G Bowers, Producer 8/12/2015 5:01:27 PM
Goodell and lawyers for the league are meeting with a federal judge in private to discuss settlement talks.
Brady waited his turn after the hearing.
— The Associated Press
Rachel G Bowers, Producer 8/12/2015 5:28:14 PM
NFL lawyer Daniel L. Nash said there was ‘‘considerable evidence Mr. Brady clearly knew about this,’’ but he conceded there was no ‘‘smoking gun.’’
At one point, Berman seemed to be trying to defuse the controversy, saying: ‘‘This Deflategate. I’m not sure where the ‘gate’ comes from.’’
When the union got its chance to argue, the judge asked attorney Jeffrey L. Kessler why Patriots employees would deflate balls without Brady’s knowledge. Kessler said the union does not believe the balls were deflated, but, if they were, the employees believed it would help their quarterback.
Brady and Goodell didn’t speak during the hearing, except to introduce themselves to Berman.
Rachel G Bowers, Producer 8/12/2015 5:42:50 PM