The U.S. District Court, where the hearings were held Tuesday. (Michael Lewis/FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)
By Michael Lewis
FrontRowSoccer.com Editor
Friday came and went and there was no decision from Judge Margo K. Brodie about a pair of illegal issues the North American Soccer League is pursuing against U.S. Soccer.
One is the league’s request for a preliminary injunction to continue as a Division 2 League, the other is the NASL’s anti-trust lawsuit against U.S. Soccer in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
While courts generally shut down for the week on Friday afternoon, end of the week also includes the weekend. So, there may or may not be a decision rendered Saturday or Sunday.
And guess what? I don’t have a problem with that.
On Tuesday, Both sides argued the merits of their cases in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
So, what does the “delay” mean?
Judge Brodie wants to get it right.
Now, I can’t read the mind of Judge Brodie, or anyone, for that matter. But my gut feeling is that the judge felt she needed more time before rendering a decision, especially in a possible anti-trust case.
Perhaps Judge Brodie is thinking of a solution that would grant Division 2 status to the NASL, but the league would have to have a strict deadline to line up teams.
Ah, I should not let my imagination wander.
On Tuesday, Judge Brodie presided over a hearing that lasted two hours and 45 minutes. A veteran court reporter told me that a hearing that lengthy was rare, but said a lot. There was and is a lot to digest.
I figured Judge Brodie wanted to hear out both sides and wanted to take the time to accrue the facts and separate truth from B.S. and hearsay, etc. etc.
Quite frankly, I was impressed with her questions, putting the feet of attorneys on both sides to the fire to get to the truth and facts and relevant information. Her questions were tough, but respectful.
Judge Brodie said that she would issue a written ruling by the end of the week. Of course, we all thought Friday.
Well, here we are on Saturday, with nothing quite yet.
Disappointed that we didn’t get one yet (late Saturday morning as I write this)?
Yes, of course.
But the society we live in is not patient at all. We don’t want things now. We want things yesterday. We live in the age of the internet, where we demand instantaneous news and information, even if that news is premature and wrong and even fake news.
But I would rather see Judge Brodie take her time dealing with the issues correctly instead of making a hasty decision.
There is way too much at stake.
