NEW YORK – APRIL 22: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (R) introduces Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints during the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 22, 2010 in New York City. Brees then announced that the Saints had selected Patrick Robinson from Florida State with the last pick of the first round (number 32 overall). (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

After Tom Brady’s Deflategate suspension was reinstated by the 2nd Circuit Court in New York earlier this week, many players are coming out in support of their colleague and against the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the latest being Saints quarterback Drew Brees. On a media tour unrelated to the Brady decision, Brees decided to hit back against Goodell and the league’s discipline policies.

“I think we would all agree that he definitely has too much power,” Brees told SI.com. “He is judge, jury and executioner when it comes to all the discipline. I’m not going to trust any league-led investigation when it comes to anything. It’s not transparent.”

“I think this was an issue again where the commissioner’s authority was challenged and the league is gonna do whatever they can to make sure they know that he is in position to make these types of unilateral decisions, and there’s nothing anybody can do about it”, Brees said on the Dan Patrick Show. He wasn’t finished, either.

Brees is a former member of the NFLPA’s executive committee, so it makes sense that he’d come down against Goodell’s massive power when it comes to disciplinary matters, although the NFLPA did collectively bargain that power into the CBA. Brees also had to deal with his team’s punishments during the 2012 Bountygate scandal.

“We’ve been witness to this down in New Orleans firsthand,” Brees told “The Rich Eisen Show.” “There’s just so much mistrust from the players’ perspective and the fans’ perspective. Nothing’s transparent about it. It happens behind closed doors and you always feel like there’s an agenda at play.”

Goodell, for his part, is defending the power he’s been granted and why it’s necessary.

“We think it’s important that the commissioner protect the integrity of the game, that you can’t entrust that to someone who has, really, no understanding of our business.”

[ESPN]

About Matt Lichtenstadter

Recent Maryland graduate. I've written for many sites including World Soccer Talk, GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Testudo Times, Yahoo's Puck Daddy Blog and more. Houndstooth is still cool, at least to me. Follow me @MattsMusings1 on Twitter, e-mail me about life and potential jobs at matthewaaron9 at Yahoo dot com.