Round 2 – unlike the first – goes to the NFL – and Tom Brady’s four-game suspension has been reinstated.
A panel of three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has ruled in favor of the league in the ongoing Deflategate case against the Patriots quarterback and the NFL Players Association.
The court announced the decision on its website Monday to reverse the decision by a U.S. District Judge, and reinstate Brady’s four-game suspension.
This comes as a drastic momentum swing in the case, after the players union secured a significant victory last September, when District Judge Richard M. Berman vacated Brady’s four-game suspension for his alleged role in intentionally deflating footballs prior to the 2015 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The decision follows a March 3 hearing in which Judges Robert A. Katzmann, Barrington Parker, Jr. and Denny Chin relentlessly posed difficult questions to NFLPA general counsel Jeffrey Kessler, during a 76-minute session.
During that hearing, Judge Chin called the evidence against Brady “compelling, if not overwhelming.”
Neither Brady, nor NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell were present for the March 3 hearing.
Brady’s suspension originated from an investigation last year by Ted Wells, an NFL-appointed attorney who found that the two-time league MVP was “at least generally aware” of the alleged intentional deflation of the footballs in the 2015 AFC title game.
After Wells completed his investigation, the NFL fined the Patriots organization $1 million and docked two draft picks, a first rounder in 2016 and fourth rounder in 2017, penalties owner Robert Kraft chose not to fight.
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