In the Saints case, their own coaches have admitted to a pay to injure program. We have audio of ther D coordinator specifically targeting players for ACL and concussion injuries. We have video evidence of the 2009 NFC Championship game where they were clearly targeting Favre and players were getting paid to injure him.

So in this case these players are trying to avoid suspensions for something they knowingly did, and something that they knew was against the rules, and something that is flat out dispicable. In the Starcaps case, the players were fighting suspensions for something that the league did which was dispicable. There is a big difference between those two cases.

The suits related to the suspension were just filed. They haven’t even been consolidated with each other or the defamation case.

The League is the defendant in the suspension suits. The time for it to file a responsive pleading hasn’t yet occurred. Until it does, the court won’t be ruling on any requests for injunctive relief.

Playing in the NFL isn’t his “right”.

If you don’t you might become radioactive for all 32 of Roger’s accolytes.

The Saints will keep on wasting their money until the season starts.

In the last section of the MTD, Goodell’s argument is fascinating to me. He is submitting that he is entitled to relief under a Louisiana procedural device for defendants in cases where free speech is at issue. But more interestingly, he insists that all discovery be stayed pending resolution of the issue under that article.

It’s just amazing how doggedly the league is refusing to share the evidence. How can Goodell continue to insist that it is the players who have refused to participate in the process when the league is pulling out all stops to keep the players in the dark about the evidence?

You mentioned this before, but I think this posture by the league really undermines its other positions – mainly that the court should defer to the remedies in the CBA – at least as far as the equities go. What remedies? Goodell’s version of article 46 is a sham. But I still think that’s best put to the arbitrator and I suspect thats where this is all going to end up. At this point, any move to reduced suspensions or pay the suspended players is an admission that the NFL and its investigation was wrong. They fight that with their last breath, because if they do it once, every single play discipline issue will use it as a president to get around the the NFL’s process and take them to court.

The NFL will only do anything when a court forces them to do so. Also, he doesn’t have ground to request a change of venue but they will have a hell of a time picking a jury. If this case gets tried, it gets tried in New Orleans. So, if anyone gets picked for jury duty your answer is “yes I am a Saints fan but no your honor I would have no problem listening to your instructions and issuing a verdict according to the law as you describe it.” Don’t wear black and gold the first day of jury duty. Save that for the second day of trial.