New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will file an appeal on Monday for a second hearing by the second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the case regarding his four-game ban for his apparent role in the Deflategate scandal.
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NFL Players Association attorney Theodore B. Olson confirmed the intention to appeal in an interview with ABC News.
Rehearing petitions are rarely granted, especially en banc petitions in this particular appeals court; the Second Circuit that traditionally awards the fewest among nation’s dozen appellate courts. Brady and his team will reportedly file the official appeal on Monday evening.
An official release from the league confirmed Brady’s legal action, as he tries to overturn what now stands as a four-game ban to start the 2016 season. There is no timeline for the court to decide whether or not it will rehear the case, though it expected that the court will make that decision well before the season starts.
The league argued that it was fair for Goodell to severely penalize Brady after he concluded the prize quarterback tarnished the game by impeding the NFL’s investigation by destroying a cellphone containing almost 10,000 messages. Such rehearings are rare. They also tried to raise the stakes in an effort to persuade the entire circuit to overrule the 2-1 decision that reinstated Brady’s four-game suspension last month.
But Yen said that Brady and his lawyers can not necessarily count on being granted a stay.
Brady has added lawyer Ted Olson to his legal team.
Brady’s scheduled to begin serving his suspension when the Patriots open the season on September 11th.
“Realistically his best chance of getting into those first four games might be to reach some sort of agreement with Commissioner Goodell”, Yen said.
“This Union has always stood for protecting the rights of our members”, Smith said. “Games routinely are played with footballs that fall below the league’s minimum pressure requirement”.
Goodell has broad authority over discipline under Article 46 of the CBA ratified in 2011.
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In the original investigation, the National Football League had asked to see the phone’s text messages but lacked subpoena power to force Brady to comply.
