As expected, Judge Susan Nelson has taken the motion to lift the lockout submitted by the players in the Tom Brady antitrust lawsuit “under advisement,” a fancy lawyer way of saying, “I’ll think about it.” Per various reports, Judge Nelson said she will issue a ruling in “a couple of weeks.”
It shouldn’t take that long.
Given that, as explained by Albert Breer of NFL Network, Judge Nelson suggested that the parties continue their negotiations, it could be that she’s giving them enough time to try to work something out.
We had hoped that she’d declare that a ruling would come in two weeks, and that in the interim the parties would be required to submit to mediation. She hasn’t gone that far, yet. According to Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe, however, Judge Nelson has made her feelings clear: “This is a matter that should be resolved,” Judge Nelson said, per Bedard. “A lot of folks are impacted.”
As one of the folks impacted by the lockout, I agree with that assessment. But I wish Judge Nelson would compel the parties to return to the table, in lieu of merely hoping that they will.
Here’s hoping that she will.
