Haha the NFL statement opens up with “The investigation conclusively established that … no one instructed Mr. Flores to lose games”
Then in point 3 it says “One such comment is a claimed offer by Mr. Ross to pay Coach Flores 100k for each loss, as to which there are differing recollections about the wording, timing and context”
Sounds really conclusive. Or they mean instructed in the most narrow sense like no one sat Flores down in a classroom and stood at a lectern with a PowerPoint explaining why they want to tank.
following a process agreed upon in the collective bargaining agreement between the league and the N.F.L. Players Association, the appeal will be heard by Commissioner Roger Goodell or a person of his choosing. The league did not immediately say who would oversee the appeal, which will be heard on an “expedited” basis.
They weren’t happy with Goodell’s disciplinary rulings, so they negotiated to get an independent arbitrator o/w whose ruling could be appealed to Goodell and he would have the final say
From the players’ perspective the new CBA is at least slightly better. Now the facts and whether they support a violation are determined by the independent arbiter and that determination can’t be appealed. So if she had found no violation by Watson, the NFL couldn’t do anything. So all NFL can appeal and change are the terms of the punishment.
