How did a dispute over NFL football ball tampering end up in a United States federal court?

Judge Richard Berman is likely wondering the same thing. "I became a federal court judge for this??!?"

He has done just about everything to encourage the NFL and Tom Brady to work on a settlement before the season starts.

How?

He fast-tracked the case ahead of more important matters. He repeatedly ordered them to engage in settlement talks. Reportedly, the court asked the NFL to involve Giants owner John Mara to help move talks forward.

He has done everything to encourage settlement short of hiring an airplane banner: SETTLE THIS CASE BECAUSE IT IS DUMB.

Judge Berman did not allow the parties to seal confidential documents. He knows fans can help be a settlement pressure point too, by exposing embarrassing things.

Fans (and team owners) sensibly have no time, inclination or expertise to look through thousands of pages of documents.

As the court filings show, however, all fanbases should be concerned about league discipline process. Arbitrary process issues aren't as flashy as the details of Brady's emails and his phone habits, but they are much more important to the actual integrity of the NFL.

The NFL has its lawyers. Brady has his. Think of me as your lawyer for what is actually good for fans and the game.

In the last two public hearings, Judge Berman hammered the NFL side of the case, raising issues that should be important to fans, things like:

• Can commissioner Roger Goodell do anything he wants to any player if he merely declares, "It goes to the integrity of the game"?

• How did Goodell pick a four-game suspension versus a fine versus anything other punishment he could pull out of a hat?

• What happens to the next player who is accused of being "generally aware" of a NFL rule violation?

• If Tom Brady's electronic communications were important to a ball deflation conspiracy, why didn't the NFL give notice to Brady and his lawyers of how important it was to its decision?

• Did NFL investigator Ted Wells even know that a miniscule fine schedule existed for equipment violations?

• Why is this even a DeflateGate? There is no evidence in the record that Brady liked playing with footballs below the pressures allowed in the rules. How can the NFL make an inference that because there's evidence Tom Brady liked 12.5-13 psi balls that he truly in his heart wanted them less than that?

• Does it matter at all that the alleged ball deflation scheme didn't seem to affect competitive balance in the Colts-Patriots game?

• If the NFL were so confident in the "independence" of its report, why didn't it allow NFL Senior VP, General Counsel and named co-author Jeff Pash to testify about any alterations he may have made to the document?

• Wells said Brady was "generally aware" of a scheme by others to deflate footballs and "fully cooperated" except for not wanting to provide the contents of his private electronics due to advice of counsel. Goodell ruled that the evidence fully supported his findings that Brady participated in a "tampering scheme" and "willfully obstructed" the investigation. So which is it?

• And why did Wells and Goodell in their findings ignore much of the basic direct evidence that was favorable to Brady?

So what was the robotic NFL legal answer to Judge Berman's concerns?

Goodell has full discretion to decide what the facts and discipline are to uphold the integrity of the game. Issues of notice, consistency, fairness, independence, process are irrelevant.

The NFL says the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows Goodell to do whatever he wants as long as he goes through the pageantry of arbitration. The NFL Players Association says the NFL isn't really following the CBA and NFL rules as written and informed by labor law.

Yes, this is an oversimplification, but, as your fan lawyer, this is what you need to know about the NFL's legal argument:

If the NFL is right, every single player and team is at risk.

If there is no reasonable way for a team or player to prove his innocence once the process starts...

If the violation can be a pet issue the league never cared about before...

If giving notice of what the rule you violated and potential punishment isn't important...

If something can turn into a ---Gate based on an anonymous source with unknown motives...

Then no team, and no player, is safe from harm to reputation and severe penalties.

If Judge Berman makes a ruling, he knows this is a lose-lose-lose for everyone. He'd have to bother with writing an unassailable opinion on something this ridiculous. The losing party would appeal. The uncertain legal process would drag out for years.

As for fans? Nobody became a sports fan to watch Law & Order: NFL.

Stephanie Stradley (@StephStradley) is a Houston-based lawyer and writer.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It goes to the integrity of the game.

