NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Tom Brady will meet in New York on Wednesday with Judge Richard Berman in an effort to resolve the legal dispute regarding the Patriots quarterback's four-game suspension.
Speaking in Chicago on Tuesday, Goodell said the NFL received the notice from Judge Berman that the two parties "are requested to engage in further good faith settlement efforts" prior to Wednesday's settlement conference.
"We had (settlement) discussions prior to this," Goodell said. "We got the letter today, we certainly will cooperate fully with that. And we will allow the judge to handle the process from there."
Berman also has set an Aug. 19 date for both parties to meet again and either continue to conference or hear oral arguments.
Goodell added Tuesday that it remains important for the Commissioner to retain final say on player discipline.
"First off, I think it's important for the ownership," he said. "We negotiated that with the union in the collective bargaining agreement -- the authority of the Commissioner to protect the integrity of the game and in particular the personal-conduct policy, outside of that. Those are very important initiatives, that's my job, that's my responsibility and I take it seriously. The ownership knows that we have rules in place to protect the integrity of the game and all 32 teams and we enforce those."
