Sports
Court Rejects Tom Brady's Deflategate Appeal
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted to not hear Brady's appeal.
Image Credit: Andrew Campbell/Wikimedia
Foxborough, MA — Tom Brady's four-game suspension from Deflategate will stand.
Find out what's happening in Foxboroughfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Patriots' quarterback's appeal for a new hearing. In April a three-judge panel from the court reinstated the suspension.
Second Circuit denies Brady’s en banc petition without explanation or revealing the vote pic.twitter.com/LL3ngfTCOf
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 13, 2016
Brady's last option is to appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States and seek a stay of the suspension from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He has 90 days to file an appeal with the country's highest court.
Find out what's happening in Foxboroughfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Though there is no firm decision, the expectation is that #Patriots QB Tom Brady will attempt to take his case to the US Supreme Court.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 13, 2016
The decision was another chapter in the unexpected legal battle that has become 'Deflategate.' In January of 2015, Brady and the Patriots were accused of using underinflated footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. An investigation into the matter known as the Wells Report determined that Brady was "more likely than not" aware that team equipment employees were deflating footballs below the legal limit of 12.5 psi.
Brady received a four-game suspension for his alleged role and the Patriots were fined $1 million and stripped of two draft picks.
In September 2015, the suspension was reversed by Judge Richard Berman, with the NFL appealing the decision in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The suspension was reinstated in April.
A new hearing in front of the court was highly unlikely to begin with. According to UNH law professor and Sports Illustrated legal expert Michael McCann, Brady's odds of a rehearing was under 1 percent.
As it stands, Jimmy Garoppolo will likely take the field as the team's quarterback for their season opener at Arizona on Sept. 11. Brady is scheduled to return on Oct. 9 when the Patriots travel to Cleveland.
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