I get why Tom Brady is fighting, but I honestly wish this DeflateGate stuff would die already. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied an appeal by the New England Patriots quarterback on Wednesday in regard to his four-game Deflategate suspension imposed by the NFL.
via ESPN:
The court had upheld Brady’s suspension in a 2-1 decision April 25, deciding that commissioner Roger Goodell’s discipline was properly grounded in the collective bargaining agreement and that Brady was treated fairly.
Brady appealed en banc, asking the entire panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to participate in the hearing. Seven of the 13 judges would have had to agree to an en banc session before a hearing was held.
Brady could still take is case to the U.S. Supreme Court so there’s a chance this saga isn’t over yet.
A quick recap: On Jan. 19, 2015, it was reported that the NFL was investigating the Patriots for deflating footballs below the league standard and were used Jan. 18 in the 2015 AFC Championship. The Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7, to advance to Super Bowl XLIX, where they later beat the Seattle Seahawks to win it all. The NFL continued to investigate and hired outside investigator Ted Wells to head an “independent investigation.” The so-called Wells Report released on May 6, 2015 concluded it was “more probable than not” that Patriots deliberately deflated the footballs with Tom Brady implicated. Brady was issued a four-game suspension and the Patriots were fined $1 million and lost a first-round draft pick in 2016 and a fourth-round pick in 2017.
A series of court cases ensued over the decision and here we are today…
If Brady is suspended for the first four games of 2016, he would miss games against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills. His regular-season debut in Week 5 would be against the Cleveland Browns.
Brady signed a two-year contract extension during the offseason that dropped his 2016 salary from $9 million to $1 million. That could save Brady almost $2 million in lost salary during a four-game suspension.
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