Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve ‘Deflategate’ suspension, appeals court rules
New England Patriots’ Tom Brady celebrates after scoring on a 1-yard run against the Dallas Cowboys during a game in October.
A popular T-shirt at New England Patriots games last season featured the word “Vindicated” over a football emblazoned with quarterback Tom Brady’s No. 12.
Brady had sidestepped a four-game suspension by the NFL for his role in an alleged football-deflating scheme.
Now, the suspension is back on.
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A federal appeals court reversed the decision of a lower-court judge Monday, ruling that Brady must sit out the Patriots’ first four games this fall. By a 2-1 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had the authority under the collective bargaining agreement to impose the penalty.
Barrington D. Parker and Denny Chin, members of a three-judge panel, wrote that Goodell “did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness.”
Last September, a week before the start of the 2015 season, Manhattan Judge Richard Berman delivered the league a stinging rebuke, writing that the handling of Brady’s case was “premised upon several significant legal deficiencies.” The quarterback has insisted that he played no role in any decision to deflate footballs below the allowable limit before the AFC championship game against Indianapolis in January 2015, a game the Patriots won by 38 points.
At this point, Brady’s legal options have dwindled significantly and experts say that he’ll probably be forced to sit out games against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.
“From a legal perspective, Brady is all but done,” said Nellie Drew, a sports law professor at University of Buffalo.
Brady could ask for his case to be reheard “en banc” before every judge in the Second Circuit, but those requests are seldom granted. He also could seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Good luck,” Drew said. “It is very unlikely that such an appeal would be entertained by either court.”
The dissenting opinion on the panel came from Chief Judge Robert Katzmann, who wrote: “I am troubled by the Commissioner’s decision to uphold the unprecedented four-game suspension. The Commissioner failed to even consider a highly relevant alternative penalty.”
Daniel Lazaroff — professor emeritus, Loyola Law School, who specializes in sports law — said the fact that it was the chief judge who dissented “might improve the chance for rehearing en banc,” but agreed such a rehearing was unlikely.
“In short,” he said, “I think the Court of Appeals’ decision will stand” without further review.
In a statement issued Monday, the league said: “We are pleased the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game. That authority has been recognized by many courts and has been expressly incorporated into every collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and [NFL Players Assn.] for the past 40 years.”
The NFLPA said in a statement that it was “disappointed” by the decision, adding: “We fought Roger Goodell’s suspension of Tom Brady because we know he did not serve as a fair arbitrator and that players’ rights were violated under our collective bargaining agreement. Our Union will carefully review the decision, consider all of our options and continue to fight for players’ rights and for the integrity of the game.”
Not surprisingly, the suspension already has had a ripple effect with oddsmakers. According to betting expert RJ Bell of Pregame.com, Las Vegas says Brady is generally worth about seven points a game.
Bell said the Week 1 game at Arizona, the “Sunday Night Football” opener, has gone from a pick-’em game to the Cardinals being favored by 41/2 points. He said the reason the Patriots aren’t bigger underdogs at this point is because Las Vegas still is not certain Brady’s suspension will stand and Coach Bill Belichick has months to prepare backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Twitter: @LATimesfarmer
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