The Sports Xchange

The NFL Players Association, which filed an appeal of the league’s four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his role in Deflategate, plans to call NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to testify in the hearing.

The NFLPA released the letter Friday that general counsel Tom DePaso sent to NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent on Thursday.

DePaso informed Vincent in the letter that the NFLPA plans to call both Vincent and Goodell to testify in the appeal hearing regarding “the circumstances surrounding the purported delegation of disciplinary authority.”

The league confirmed Thursday night that Goodell has elected to preside over the appeal of Brady’s suspension, rejecting the NFLPA’s request that an independent arbitrator hear the case.

“Commissioner Goodell will hear the appeal of Tom Brady’s suspension in accordance with the process agreed upon with the NFL Players Association in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.

Brady was suspended for his role as the alleged ringleader of team equipment managers who intentionally lowered the air pressure in footballs. Brady did not fully cooperate with the NFL’s third-party investigation led by Ted Wells, according to a 243-page report outlining the offenses.

In the Wells report released May 6, investigators said it was “more probable than not” that Brady “was at least generally aware” that team employees were instructed to prepare the game balls to his liking. They inflated the footballs below the league minimum of 12.5 pounds per square inch.

In the NFLPA letter sent to Vincent, DePaso outlined several points that will be raised during the process — starting with the argument that Vincent has no authority to impose discipline under the collective bargaining agreement and that any attempt by Goodell to delegate the imposition of discipline is a violation of the CBA.

DePaso said in the letter that because the NFLPA intends to seek the testimony of Goodell and Vincent, the NFLPA argues “that neither Commissioner Goodell nor anyone with close ties to the NFL can serve as arbitrator in Mr. Brady’s appeal under governing legal standards.”

A source told ESPN’s Ed Werder on Friday that Goodell was likely to interview Patriots equipment assistant John Jastremski and officials locker room attendant Jim McNally as witnesses and that the commissioner wanted to hear Brady’s side of the story.

“Given the NFL’s history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters, it is only fair that a neutral arbitrator hear this appeal,” the union said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “If Ted Wells and the NFL believe, as their public comments stated, that the evidence in their report is ‘direct’ and ‘inculpatory,’ then they should be confident enough to present their case before someone who is truly independent.”

The Patriots have not indicated whether they plan to appeal a $1 million fine and the loss of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-rounder in 2017, although they issued an online rebuttal to the Wells report on Thursday.

The Patriots have until May 21 to file an appeal of their penalties.

In response to several of the evidentiary points raised by Wells in the controversy, the Patriots’ legal team of Morgan, Lewis, Young and Associates said Brady had the best intentions in mind.

“Mr. Brady is used to the limelight and to critics; Mr. Jastremski is not. Since Mr. Jastremski prepared the footballs, it was reasonable to expect that this media attention would focus on him,” the Patriots said Thursday. “It was also reasonable to expect that (as happened) Mr. Jastremski’s boss would question Mr. Jastremski to see what, if anything, he knew. Mr. Brady’s reaching out to Mr. Jastremski to see how he was holding up in these circumstances is not only understandable, but commendable.”

Another claim by the Patriots was that the “Deflator” nickname of equipment manager Jim McNally was a common reference to his attempt to lose weight.

“Deflate was a term they used to refer to losing weight,” the team said Thursday.