NEW YORK – In late July, moments after Roger Goodell upheld Tom Brady's four-game suspension in the deflate-gate scandal, the NFL filed a lawsuit in lower Manhattan seeking to have the U.S. District Court there confirm the ruling.

This was so-called "forum shopping," the league seeking a favorable, historically pro-business court. The NFL Players Association preferred to get the case to Minnesota in front of Judge David S. Doty, who has routinely ruled against the league.

By filing first, the NFL got its wish – New York's Southern District, just steps from Wall Street, was selected.

View photos Roger Goodell has had some rough moments over the past couple of years. (AP) More

Like many things in this forever scandal, though, it backfired on the NFL. What was hoped to be a quick decision based on case law that pays "great deference" to Goodell's power as arbitrator no matter how bizarre and befuddling the system, has turned into a growing public relations nightmare.

On Monday, both Brady and Goodell return to the 17th floor downtown courtroom of Judge Richard M. Berman, the man responsible for whatever angst the once confident NFL is now feeling.

In a case that is now less about the inflation levels of the footballs and more about the lasting reputation of two of football's most prominent figures, it is now Goodell with little to gain and Brady with little to lose.

Make no mistake: legally, the NFL still holds a strong position. Based on the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision MLBPA v Garvey, judges can't step in and revoke arbitrators' decisions even if it determines "improvident, even silly, fact-finding."

"It is only when the arbitrator strays from interpretation and application of the agreement and effectively 'dispenses his own brand of industrial justice' that his decision may be unenforceable," the Garvey ruling reads.

While NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler has presented four separate arguments to Berman suggesting Goodell strayed from the process spelled out in the CBA, the NFL still has the Garvey decision behind it. Even if Berman initially sides with Brady, the NFL would be favored if the case goes to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which is just around the corner here.

So the NFL is still the most likely party to win, eventually.

At what cost, though?

In the month since the case went before Berman, the judge has put the league's attention to fairness under a bright spotlight. He released the full transcripts to all hearings, including Brady's appeal, which the NFL sought to seal, exposing numerous problems and mischaracterizations. He's questioned the league's motives. He's cracked jokes about its procedures. He's played along with Kessler's colorful rants that play well in the media. He's practically been a PatsFans.com message board poster in a black robe.

If the NFL hoped for a rubber stamp, it instead got a federal judge lampooning its system and the commissioner in charge.

View photos Not all of the fans are in Tom Brady's corner. (Getty) More

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