Mark Cuban praises NFL’s Goodell for handling of ‘Deflategate’

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has praised NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for his handling of Deflategate involving New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

The Mavericks were in Boston on Wednesday night, and reporters took the opportunity to ask the outspoken NBA owner about Goodell and his suspension of Brady.

"As an owner, it was obvious to me that it was up to Roger Goodell to take the heat and take responsibility," Cuban told reporters at TD Garden. "And he handled in masterfully. The fact that it all got reversed and all that is irrelevant.

"The NFL always loses their court cases the first time. Always. And then they end up winning when it doesn't matter, but you can't -- I don't know if Brady lied or not, who knows, with the whole phone thing and everything -- but the reality is it's all about the good of the game and that's what Roger's responsible for and that's what the owners pay him so much money to do. And he's going to do to the best of his ability what he thinks he can, and I think that's what he did. It's not about Brady, it's not about anything else. It's, 'How do you manage the golden goose?' That's what he's trying to do. I give him credit for taking all of the bullets."

The NFL originally suspended Brady for the first four games of the regular season for his alleged part of improperly inflated footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in January.

Brady appealed his suspension to the NFL and Goodell upheld the suspension in July. However, Brady then appealed the suspension in federal court, and U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman overturned the suspension on Sept. 3, allowing Brady to play immediately.

The NFL is now appealing Berman's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Cuban doesn't think Goodell has too much power over the players.

"He's got 32 bosses," Cuban said. "It's hard to have too much power when you have 32 bosses. Trust me. I mean, I don't know the NFL and I'm just guessing, but he ain't doing (expletive) without getting feedback from all the owners."