“Deflategate” seems to have become the NFL scandal that won’t go away. In fact, deflategate has made it all the way to federal court. Patriots superstar quarterback Tom Brady appeared in court on Wednesday to appeal the four-game suspension the NFL deemed appropriate for his role in the scandal; now a judge is involved in the legal scuffle that has mainly been conducted behind closed doors.

Brady was suspended for four games, which was deemed an appropriate punishment for his role in the controversy involving the deflated balls used by the Patriots in the January 18 playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. The suspension was appealed to Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, who declined to amend it. After a lot of back-and-forth the case has made it to federal court in New York–the NFL is asking the court to uphold the suspension sentence, and the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) is working with Brady to ask that the suspension is vacated. The case is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who publicly questioned both sides yesterday.

Berman appeared to doubt the NFL’s evidence that Brady was involved with the under-inflated balls–pointing out that it lacked a “smoking gun” tying the quarterback to the scandal. During Berman’s questioning to that effect, the NFL representatives did admit that they were missing direct evidence tying Brady to the deflated balls, but instead relied on circumstantial evidence mostly in the form of rather vague text messages. Berman also pointed out that the balls in question didn’t appear to give Brady any competitive advantage, given that he played better with the untouched balls in the later half of the game.

However, Berman did have some concerns about the way that Brady handled the investigation into his actions–particularly the fact that he destroyed his phone. While Brady’s team claimed that he did so in order to protect his privacy, the timing seemed a bit suspect. Brady’s lawyer acknowledged that he could have dealt with privacy concerns in a more prudent way given the circumstances. After Berman questioned both sides, there was a long, private discussion; it’s unclear how much progress was made.

At the end of the day, it does seem like timeliness will be a strong motivation for whatever deal ends up being made between Brady, the NFLPA, and the NFL. There is definitely some pressure to finish this up soon, given that regular season play, and Brady’s suspension, will begin in September. In fact, Berman himself is encouraging them to settle this quickly–if no settlement is reached, both sides will have to appear again in court. As the regular season–and the publicity and profits that go with it loom–it’s in everyone’s best interests to reach a settlement quickly.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Aaron Hernandez was found guilty yesterday of the first-degree murder of Odin L. Lloyd. Hernandez, a former tight end for the New England Patriots, will serve life in prison without the chance of parole. The legal troubles aren’t over for Hernandez, however, as there are still two more murder charges for the former star. The high profile nature of these cases does now beg a question: how did a man with such a bright spotlight shone on him manage to keep his criminal behaviors in the dark for so long?

Hernandez’s past is often described as a troubled one. He grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, was known to run with bad crowds from time to time, and other members of his family had relatively consistent run-ins with the law. But Hernandez’s talent on the football field always seemed to propel him forward–he shattered Connecticut state records, was very successful playing as a Gator at the University of Florida, and then was a fourth-round draft pick for the New England Patriots. By the time he was arrested he’d made millions of dollars and was still young enough to have many good years in the NFL ahead of him.

He was the “pride” of his small town. But he’s also a murderer–he’s now been found guilty of shooting one man seemingly in cold blood, and it’s looking pretty likely he’ll get convicted in the 2012 murders of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Hernandez allegedly shot them after Abreu bumped into him in a club and caused Hernandez to spill his drink.

There are really only two possibilities for what happened here. One is that he was such a brilliant manipulator that he managed to hide his violent tendencies from those around him. The other seems unlikely, although it’s not a completely outlandish theory. Boston.com columnist Bill Speros wrote an op-ed in which he alleged that Hernandez is an undiagnosed psychopath. An interview from right after the Boston murders seems to lend at least some evidence to that theory. He joked and laughed with the media, saying that his summer was “private” but he “still had some fun.” If he did indeed murder Abreu and Furtado, the fact that he could be so callous and removed just 11 days later certainly is a concerning sign.

I think there’s a more likely scenario, however, and that’s that there were plenty of warning signs, but that they were flat out ignored because of his star status. Take an oft-cited incident when he was in Gainesville, for example. He went out with some of his former teammates, got into a dispute over a check, and ended up punching a bouncer in the face. One of his teammates on the Patriots, Tully Banta-Cain, said in 2010:

A lot of guys come into the NFL haunted by the past. Some guys overcome it and some continue to be haunted throughout their careers if they’re not able to disassociate themselves from certain people or certain atmospheres. Aaron may have fallen victim to that.

Aaron Hernandez spent his life thus far with people who were willing to look out for him because they saw promise, or because they saw that he was trying to overcome a “troubled” background. But in an atmosphere like that, it seems like he got away with a lot and those close to him let a lot of things slide.

That wouldn’t be unheard of. The Steubenville rape scandal a few years back, for example, showed an almost textbook example of many people in a small town willing to forgive horrid crimes because of who the perpetrators were.

No one will ever really know how Hernandez–a man who ostensibly could have had a very bright future–ended up as a murderer. But one thing is certain: he’s now going to pay the price.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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