On April 25, the three-judge appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was within his powers when he suspended Brady for his alleged role to deflate the footballs used in the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts on January 18, 2015.
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After three months, league investigator Ted Wells concluded the Patriots intentionally used underinflated footballs in the game and that Brady was “at least generally aware” of the scheme. And Wednesday, he lost a big round and possibley the fight as the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals denied the petition to rehear his suspension case.
Should Brady choose to appeal, he would ask the 2nd Circuit for a stay of the ruling and, if unsuccessful there, make the same request of the Supreme Court. Given how aggressively Brady, the NFL Players Association and all the lawyers involved have pursued the case, trying to get the Supreme Court to hear it could be the next step.
Just about all legal avenues have been exhausted by Brady, who still has the option of going to the Supreme Court. We have a broken system that must be fixed.
But in a 2-1 decision on April 25, an appeals court panel restored Brady’s punishment, saying Goodell had broad discretion under the league’s collective bargaining agreement with its players to resolve what it called an “intramural controversy”. His four game suspension is likely to be served at the start of the 2016 season. The Dolphins have beaten the Patriots three of the past five meetings, including a Week 17 victory at Miami previous year that cost New England home-field advantage in the playoffs and, ultimately, a chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions. “There’s nothing stopping the suspension, so if no one stays it, Tom Brady is out for the first four games”.
According to the report, no one said Brady tampered with the footballs, although he was implicated in texts involving McNally and Jastremski. Or the section when the Patriots play Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Seattle, their most formidable four-game stretch.
Further, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert casts doubt in an opinion piece on how effective going to the Supreme Court would be for Brady and the Patriots.
The Patriots report for training camp in two weeks, and a suspended player is allowed to practice with the team during camp and participate in preseason games.
Shaquille O’Neal has only been retired for a few years, but it might not be long before we see another O’Neal lighting up the court.
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The NFL countered that its agreement with the union gave Goodell expansive power to discipline players.
