The Sports Xchange

The NFL Players Association, demanding NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recuse himself from the Deflategate appeal, could file a lawsuit to force the issue.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said it is “highly likely if not certain” that a lawsuit attempting to force Goodell to delegate the appeal will be filed, possibly soon.

The NFLPA on Thursday filed an appeal of the NFL’s four-game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

“If the Commissioner does not appoint such a neutral arbitrator, the NFLPA and Mr. Brady will seek recusal and pursue all available relief to obtain an arbitrator who is not evidently partial,” general counsel Tom DePaso said in the appeal letter sent to NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent.

Goodell is “very unlikely” to recuse himself from presiding over the appeal, ESPN’s Ed Werder reported Friday, based on a source.

That will put Goodell in the position to weigh the arguments of Brady and the NFLPA against the decision to follow the conclusions reached by Ted Wells in the 243-page report outlining the offenses.

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.

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.

Wells found Brady and the Patriots’ equipment staff were all likely culpable in reducing the psi in the AFC Championship game in January against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts brought the issue to the attention of the league, sparking a four-month investigation.

In his summary, Wells wrote about the irregularities in the footballs used in the game when the Patriots routed the Colts, 45-7, to win the AFC title.

The Patriots went on to beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, in the Super Bowl.

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.

Goodell authorized the resolutions, even though the league said the Brady suspension as well as the discipline imposed on the Patriots organization were decided by Vincent.

“We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others,” Goodell said in a statement. “We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and thoroughness and independence of the Wells Report.”

Meanwhile, count Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich among the teammates who back Brady.

Ninkovich said has no doubts about his quarterback’s integrity.

“I don’t question it,” Ninkovich said on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. “Tom is a tremendous person and there is nothing more important to him than the game itself.

“I don’t think Tom would ever do anything to jeopardize the integrity of the game. I stand by my quarterback and everyone else should, too. When you’re really good for a really long time, people want to come after you.

“We all support Tom, the whole Patriots organization supports Tom, and the Patriots fan base supports Tom. You can’t control what everybody else says or does, you can kind of just control what you can do. For me, everybody else is focused on this season and do the best you can.”