Roger Goodell: ‘NFL will cooperate fully with judge Richard Berman’

Swarming around a courtroom sketch of Tom Brady at his Deflate-Gate trial Wednesday, Internet users superimposed the rendering of his head atop other famous images – and the results are hilarious.

A source with knowledge of the court proceedings told Paolantonio that both sides are talking to try to avoid the scheduled August 19 court hearing, which is expected to be open to the public and could include testimony from witnesses.

Berman repeatedly asked the league about the evidence of Brady’s involvement in a scheme to take air out of game balls used during the A.F.C. championship game in January.

Nash responded there was “considerable evidence Mr. Brady clearly knew about this”, including records of text messages and phone calls between the quarterback and one of two Patriots employees implicated in the scandal known as “Deflategate”. “The fact there may not be a smoking gun… does not mean there’s not evidence of culpability”, Nash said.

Judge Prods N.F.L.at Hearing on Tom Brady’s Suspension [New York Times].

When pressed about his comment that he thinks Brady is “guilty as sin”, Chase said he believes the quarterback is “guilty of at some point putting pressure on [Jim McNally and John Jastremski] to deflate the footballs”. He said he had nothing to do with the under-inflated footballs, and will not admit any guilt.

The two sides will file additional arguments to Judge Berman this week and reconvene in court next week if no settlement deal is reached ahead of that time.

The judge also questioned why Brady destroyed his cellphone in the midst of the inquiry – a move that the league argues was further proof of his deception.

Published reports say that while the NFL and the union have been talking about a settlement, a holdup is Brady’s refusal to admit guilt.

The Patriots play the first game of the 2015 season September 10 against the Steelers. Ideally, Berman won’t have to make a decision – this is a settlement hearing after all.

The NFL claims Brady broke league rules by using deflated footballs during a playoff game last season.

The Patriots’ victory in the Colts game enabled the team to advance to the Super Bowl, where they beat the defending champion Seattle Seahawks 28-24.

The Patriots won the match against Indianapolis, earning Brady his fourth NFL title.