To no one’s surprise, the fans in Boston have been adamant in their support for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as he takes his “deflategate” suspension appeal to court. However, it now appears that Brady has an old division rival in his corner, former New York Jets kicker, Jay Feeley. ESPN.com reports that Feeley, who was present at Monday’s settlement conference as a member of the NFLPA’s executive committee, presented a very strong argument to U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman that the NFL overstepped its bounds and ignored precedent when handing out Tom Brady’s four-game suspension.
In the NFL Player Association’s July 31st court filing, the union argued that no NFL player has ever been investigated or disciplined for violating the NFL’s Competitive Integrity Policy. Prior to Brady’s case, only teams and team personnel had been disciplined under the policy. To back up this claim, they cited an incident that occurred with the New York Jets in 2009 where a member of the equipment staff was suspended for an attempt to use unapproved equipment to prep kicking balls prior to a game. The Jets kicker at that time was none other than Jay Feeley, who faced no investigation or punishment from the league despite the fact that he was the player who would most directly benefit from the team’s equipment violation.
Feeley spoke with the Doug Gottlieb show on CBS Radio later in the day about his conversation with Judge Berman. “We talked about the similarities in that case and the differences in the way the NFL responded. I didn’t get in trouble. I had no culpability in that case.” He went on to add, “The reaction of the NFL was much different than they reacted to Tom, even though the circumstances were very similar.”
It’s a rare sight to see the Jets and Patriots come together, but in the wake of the NFL’s aggressive pursuit of Tom Brady, NFL players are tossing aside team loyalties to promote their common good.
“If something even had happened, it would have been a speeding ticket, and [the league] reacted like it was a homicide,” said Feeley.
If this “deflategate” ordeal has taught NFL players anything, it’s that you never know when your car will get pulled over by “Officer Goodell” next.
