NEW YORK, NY – A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday morning that the suspension of Tom Brady for involvement in the infamous “deflate-gate’ controvery will be restored.
The initial 4-game suspension handed down by the NFL was rescinded after Brady and the Players Association took the league office to court over the matter, with the Patriots quarterback playing a complete 2015-2016 season.
Appeals court rules Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve 4-game ‘Deflategate’ suspension. https://t.co/zLWSLBLnmU
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 25, 2016
Though seemingly out of the general publics mind with the incident seeming so distant and no relevance of Brady in the current state of sports, the matter has been being fought over in court since its first ruling.
Today though, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York which included a 3 judge panel reversed the federal judge’s ruling from September. The appeals court ruled that in imposing the suspension, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did in fact properly exercised his discretion under a collective bargaining agreement.
In essence, the ruling isn’t saying Brady did aid in deflating the footballs back in that AFC Championship game versus the Colts, but saying Roger Goodell was within his full right as league commissioner to hand down the QB the original suspension.
Courtroom sketch artists captured the moment in court:
With Monday’s ruling, Tom Brady will have to sit the first four regular season games of the upcoming NFL season. The Patriots opponents for those games?
Week 1: Arizona Cardinals
Week 2: Miami Dolphins
Week 3: Houston Texans
Week 4: Buffalo Bills
Many expect Brady and his camp to once again appeal the decision.
