Tom Brady News: Patriots Star Faces Four-Game Suspension
The deflategate has made its way back.
In New England, the Patriots may very well play their first four games without star quarterback Tom Brady.
According to reports, the appeals court has reinstated Brady's suspension stemming back from the Deflategate incident.
The incident dates back to two seasons ago when the Patriots were ruled to take part of the scandal where they used deflated balls during the playoffs.
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In the AFC championship game back in January 2015, the Patriots were accused of using balls that were underinflated, resulting in them beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-7.
They would later on win the Super Bowl that year.
And now, the US Court of Appeals have decided, through a three-man panel, that Brady should be suspended for the first four games of the coming season – but the command must come from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
In a statement, it said that: "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. Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND with instructions to confirm the award."
This means that the league commissioner has the decision whether to uphold the suspension, or get an alternative way to penalize the star.
Brady could also try to get an injunction to take another hearing before the Second Circuit court as he tries to give out is side of the matter.
However, if the suspension holds, then Brady is set to miss his Week 1 battle against the Arizona Cardinals, then he would miss the next three games – all to be played at home – against the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills.
Brady will return in Week 5 to face the Cleveland Browns.
At the moment, the Patriots have Jimmy Garoppolo as their back-up quarterback, and they may use their 11 picks to pick one up in the upcoming draft.
