Tom Brady's Deflategate 4-Game Suspension Reinstated by US Court of Appeals
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Timothy
Rapp
Apr 25, 2016
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A United States appeals court reinstated New England Patriotsquarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension Monday, according to Reuters (via CNBC Now), which the NFLoriginally levied in the wake of the Deflategate scandal.
The decision overturns U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman's decision to throw out that suspension and forces that court to confirm it, per Andrew Brandt of ESPN.
Will Brinson of CBS Sports shared the key excerpt from that ruling:
While the NFL Players Association has maintained that Brady should simply be fined for an equipment infraction, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, the court upheld commissioner Roger Goodell's right to levy additional punishments against the quarterback.
The Court did acknowledge that the commissioner's power was particularly broad, however, per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network:
As Pro Football Talk noted, Brady and company won't be able to return to Judge Berman on this issue:
But if Brady wants to continue fighting, he has a few options, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network noted:
Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal believes that Brady and the NFLPA will fight to be granted a stay and will either appeal to a full Second Circuit Appeals Court or to the Supreme Court.
But Bill Polian of ESPN noted on SportsCenter on Monday morning that league sources believed that the decision of the Appeals Court would likely be the end of the road for this case, however, citing the more complex and lengthy appeals process that occurs in the higher courts.
Of course, Goodell always has the option to change the punishment himself, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted:
If Brady isn't granted a stay or doesn't continue to fight, he'll miss the team's first four games of the season against the Arizona Cardinals (away), Miami Dolphins (home), Houston Texans (home) and Buffalo Bills (home). It would be the first season-opening game Brady would miss in 15 years, per ESPN Stats & Information, behind only Dan Marino (16), John Elway (16) and Brett Favre (15).
Jimmy Garoppolo will step in as the team's starter if Brady accepts his suspension. Garoppolo has appeared in 11 games since being a second-round pick in 2014, throwing for 188 yards and a touchdown.
As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com noted, Brady did prepare for this possibility:
It's certainly a major blow for Brady and the Patriots and, on a wider scale, for the NFLPA. It's another indication that the breadth of the commissioner's power will be a major point of contention when the next CBA is bargained.
And for a Patriots team that will be without a first-round pick on Thursday night at the NFL draft after losing it in the wake of Deflategate, it's another setback following the controversy over what the league deemed to be improperly deflated footballs.
