Tom Brady and the NFLPA have until Monday to file for an en banc hearing of his Deflategate suspension.
Given the legal firepower Brady’s team has added, there's no doubt they will be filing.
The latest name added is Thomas Dupree from the D.C. law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher. Dupree joins Ted Olson (also of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher) among the legal heavy hitters fighting for Brady since the 2-to-1 ruling that reversed Judge Richard Berman’s overturn of Brady’s initial discipline. Michael Hurley, who writes for CBS Boston Sports, unearthed Dupree’s addition first.
Dupree was George W. Bush’s attorney in Bush vs. Gore, the case that decided the 2000 presidential election.
What difference will Dupree or Olson make? Impossible to tell. First, the Second Circuit has to decide if it will entertain Brady’s case en banc. Here is an article detailing that procedure and the possibility of a “mini en banc review” if the full-on en banc isn’t granted. (Oh, goody! Another legal proceeding I’ve never heard of that I need to become conversant in!)
If the Second Circuit assents to the en banc hearing (and it usually doesn’t), then away they go. If they do not, Olson and Dupree -- with their experience in appealing cases to the Supreme Court -- will likely be very active in trying to get the Brady case in front of SCOTUS.
If you find yourself wondering what this may be costing the NFLPA, Olson reportedly makes about $1,800 an hour. You can presume Dupree hauls it in at a similar rate. And Jeffrey Kessler, too.
New England Patriots
If that’s all coming out of the NFLPA coffers and none from Brady’s fairly deep pockets, the rank-and-file players probably have a right to grumble.