New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady arrives at federal court, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015, in New York. Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are set to explain to a judge why a controversy over underinflated footballs at last season’s AFC conference championship game is spilling into a new season. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Here are the latest developments in a federal court hearing in football’s “Deflategate” scandal, with the NFL, the players’ union and superstar quarterback Tom Brady at odds about a four game suspension he received for using underinflated footballs (all times local):

11:40 a.m.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman says he thinks there are varying strengths to both sides in the argument over whether the NFL was justified in suspending Tom Brady four games in the “Deflategate” scandal.

Berman said Wednesday at the start of a hearing in federal court that he has not determined in his own mind who will prevail between Brady and the players’ union or the league and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Berman spoke before allowing lawyers to make a brief argument.

NFL lawyer Daniel Nash says the collective bargaining agreement with the players gives the NFL commissioner authority and the responsibility to protect the integrity of the game, including imposing suspensions.

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11:30 a.m.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman says the legal dispute in “Deflategate” isn’t typically the kind of case to go to trial. He says similar cases are usually resolved by a judge if they are not settled.

Berman told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Wednesday that while similar civil cases generally take about two years to resolve: “I think it’s fair to say nobody here today wants to wait that long.”

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11:25 a.m.

An initial hearing has begun in federal court to decide whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was justified in suspending New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady four games for using underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game last season.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman started the hearing Wednesday after meeting separately with Goodell and Brady with their lawyers.

Brady and Goodell each stood up and introduced themselves to the judge in open court, while their lawyers also introduced themselves.

Goodell and the league are arguing that the punishment was justified under the current players’ contract. Brady and the players’ union disagree.

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10:45 a.m.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman is meeting individually in his robing room with the sides in the scandal known as “Deflategate.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league’s lawyers met with Berman on Wednesday morning for about 15 minutes before the start of a scheduled court hearing in Manhattan.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady sat and waited with five lawyers at a long table, then went in to meet with Berman after Goodell was finished.

Berman had urged the sides to try to reach a settlement before the hearing, a message he reiterated Tuesday when he pressured the sides for 11th-hour talks.

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10:15 a.m.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have arrived at a courthouse in Manhattan for a hearing in their ongoing dispute over underinflated footballs.

Goodell was greeted Wednesday by a smattering of boos as he walked in. Four minutes later, Brady arrived flanked by four security guards. Both men went through a security sweep like everyone else going to court.

Dozens of fans and journalists waited for two of the NFL’s most famous faces at the front entrance of the courthouse, including some wearing deflated football hats they were hoping to sell.

The court hearing is the first since the league and Brady with the NFL players’ union traded filings in the scandal known as “Deflategate,” a dispute over whether Goodell was justified in suspending Brady four games for his role in using underinflated footballs during the AFC championship game in January.

The league is asking U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman to declare it followed its players’ contract properly when it punished Brady.

SOURCE: The Associated Press
Larry Neumeister and Tom Hays