The NFLPA responded strongly to a report that stated the league and Tom Brady's camp were close on a settlement.
After a week of reports tracking the settlement talks between the players union and the league, NFL Media's Judy Battista said on Tuesday, after commissioner Roger Goodell had upheld Brady's four-game suspension, that the sides had been moving close to a one-game suspension settlement. The reason it didn't occur, she said, was that Brady wanted records sealed, and the NFL wouldn't agree to that stipulation.
NFLPA assistant executive director of external affairs George Atallah later responded to the report on Twitter: "Any report that suggests two sides were coming close on a settlement in the Brady matter is rubbish. Plain and simple, rubbish."
At this moment, it doesn't much matter either way. The case is headed to federal court, where the result will be in the hands of a judge.