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Keith Strudler: Tom Brady And The Supreme Court

I hung out with a lawyer friend of mine yesterday, and I’ve come to the very obvious conclusion that we live in a litigious society. I mean, you can literally take anything or anyone to court. Some of these cases get pretty serious, and some of them less so. But just because you don’t have a case doesn’t mean you can’t try. And, if you’re crafty enough and get the right lawyer, you might just win. Or settle, since apparently hardly anything actually goes to court anymore.

Included on the list of things that may no longer end up in court is the case of Tom Brady vs. the NFL, a case more commonly, and lovingly known as Deflategate. After winding its way through the court system this past year in what most assumed will be the genesis of a movie script that will include Matthew McConaughey  as an outmanned but good hearted defense lawyer, the US 2nd Court of Appeals ruled that Tom Brady did not have the goods to get another hearing. Which means he had exactly two choices. One, take the four game suspension levied by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to be served the beginning of this upcoming season, or two, take this to the US Supreme Court, which – and I’m not a legal nor American historian – but does seem exactly what the highest court in the land was designed to do.

Sadly, Tom Brady chose the former, taking his just deserves instead of fighting the power. Instead of potentially making legal history in a case that would set precedent for any and every deflated ball case to come in its wake – I’m talking football, basketball, soccer, maybe even handball; pretty much anything that takes a needle – instead, Tom Brady took the easy way out, leaving future quarterbacks and goaltenders and point guards to fight the good, if but a tad bit under-inflated fight. I as a fan, and as someone who has been to court many times for various driving infractions and have watched pretty much every episode of the TV show Suits, I will never have the unbridled joy of hearing Ruth Bader Ginsberg discuss Tom Brady’s cell phone call history. Who knows, maybe this was the case that would have gotten Clarence Thomas to speak. Now, we’ll never know.

Now, the good news is, the NFL Players Association has a chance to be brave where Tom Brady was not. Brady has authorized the union to continue the righteous fight against the NFL and appeal to the Supreme Court. Because this case isn’t just about Tom Brady. It’s about all the other quarterbacks who might someday find themselves holding a football two pounds below the required air pressure in a game they’ll win by 38 points. It’s to protect these men from things like renegade equipment managers who simply act on their own volition and deflate footballs without you ever knowing about it. Just like what Tom Brady said happened to him. Sure, it might be too late for Tom Brady. But maybe, hopefully, it’s not too late for his kids.

Now, some might suggest that the Supreme Court has more important affairs than to consider the trivialities of under-inflated footballs. Like immigration, affirmative action, second amendment, and on and on. So why waste precious judicial air on something as marginal as this?

Here’s why. Because if the Supreme Court takes a case like this, it give all the rest of us hope. Like that parking ticket I got in Manhattan a few years ago, maybe the Supreme Court can take that case. And the time I had to pay a late fee on my heating bill because I forgot; maybe the Court has time for that. Or the argument I had with my wife about who was supposed to send in our kids’ permission slips, and then one of us had to drive up to school to get it in on time. Maybe the Supreme Court can hear that as well. Assuming they’ll rule in my favor, of course.

See this is the true power of Tom Brady vs. the NFL. It’s not about football. It’s not about quarterbacks. It’s not even about Tom Brady. It’s about America. It’s about all the other frivolous arguments that might finally get solved by the highest court in the land. Can you imagine how that might end a fight with your spouse? You could literally say, “Honey, you have to do the laundry, because Samuel Alito says so.” There’s no comeback for that. In America, we should all have access to the greatest legal minds our great nation has to offer. That includes habitual speeders and NFL quarterbacks.

So if I want to litigate, I should be able to litigate with the best. The Supreme Court. Not some local small claims situation. Or Judge Judy of course, she’s fine as well. But in a litigious society like ours, you, me, and Tom Brady, should be able to go higher, even if PSI does not.

Keith Strudler is the director of the Marist College Center for Sports Communication and an associate professor of communication. You can follow him on twitter at @KeithStrudler

 
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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