April 25--Tom Brady's on-again, off-again "Deflategate" suspension is back on.
A federal appeals court overturned the ruling of a lower court judge Monday and sided with the NFL, ruling the league has the authority to impose a four-game suspension on the New England Patriots quarterback for his role in an alleged football-deflating scheme.
The ruling, issued in New York by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, means that -- barring another legal twist -- Brady will be forced to sit out the first four games of the season, against Arizona, Miami, Houston and Buffalo.
The situation harkens back to a year ago, when Brady didn't learn until a week before the season started that he would be allowed to play.
The incident of the underinflated footballs happened in the AFC championship game between Indianapolis and New England in January 2015. The Patriots, whose footballs were measured for air pressure at halftime of that game, wound up winning handily, 45-7. Underinflated footballs are generally considered easier to throw and catch.
In September, Manhattan Judge Richard Berman ruled against the NFL, lifting the suspension of Brady. The reversal Monday came when a three-judge panel voted 2-1 that the NFL had the authority under the collective bargaining agreement to impose the penalty.
"We hold that the commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement and that his procedural rulings were properly grounded in that agreement and did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness," judges Barrington D. Parker and Denny Chin wrote.
In his nine-page dissenting opinion, Chief Judge Robert Katzmann 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."
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The National Football League Players Assn. issued a statement saying it was disappointed by the decision of the appeals court.
"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," the union said.
"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."
