Brady’s 4-game suspension reinstated after judges’ ruling

A four-game suspension has been reinstated for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the ‘Deflategate’ case, following a decision made today. 

"We hold that the Commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement," the US Appeals Court ruling ruled Monday, "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."

In the ruling, the court specifically noted its lack of ability to determine whether Brady "participated in a scheme to deflate footballs or whether the suspension imposed by the Commissioner should have been for three games or five games or none at all."

READ: Full court ruling

Rather, the court noted, "Our obligation is limited to determining whether the arbitration proceedings and award met the minimum legal standards established by the Labor Management Relations Act."

The court says the commissioner was authorized to impose discipline "for, among other things, ‘conduct detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence, in the game of professional football.’"

The court also said that "the parties contracted in the CBA to specifically allow the Commissioner to sit as the arbitrator in all disputes…They did so knowing full well that the Commissioner had the sole power of determining what constitutes "conduct detrimental"…"Had the parties wished to restrict the Commissioner’s authority, they could have fashioned a different agreement."

The judges ruled 2-1 to overturn the appeal, with Chief Justice Katzmnann dissenting.

RELATED: Judge Katzmann issues dissent, calls Goodell ruling troubling

It is unclear what steps Brady’s legal team will now take following the ruling. Brady’s options involve appealing to the US Supreme Court or asking the full 13 members of the circuit court to hear the case. The latter is a longshot, as very few cases are heard by the full court following an Appeals ruling.

The NFL released a statement following the ruling, saying, "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 the NFLPA for the past 40 years."

The Patriots’ first four games of the 2016 season are at Arizona on Sept. 11, followed by three home games against Miami on Sept. 18, Houston on Sept. 22, and Buffalo on Oct. 2.

If Brady cannot play under center, backup Jimmy Garoppolo would likely be the starter. Garoppolo was the team’s second-round draft pick in 2014.

If Brady is suspended, his first game would be against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 9.

The NFL issued a statement, saying, "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 NFLPA for the past 40 years."

The NFLPA has also issued a statement, saying "The NFLPA is disappointed in the decision by the Second Circuit. 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."

The ruling overturns a previous ruling by Judge Richard Berman before the 2015-2016 season which eliminated the suspension.

In early March, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan held a hearing on the suspension and gave a players’ union lawyer a tough time, with one of three judges even saying evidence of ball tampering was compelling, if not overwhelming.

All three judges put NFL Players Association attorney Jeffrey Kessler on the defensive with multiple reasons why they thought NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might have been within his rights to order the suspension of Brady after finding the quarterback knew about the deflation of game balls before the January 2015 AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts and that he had obstructed the league’s investigation.

The judges also were tough at times on Paul Clement, attorney for the NFL, questioning why the simple act of deflating footballs warranted such a severe suspension.

But they seemed to answer that question themselves when Kessler stood before them as they noted repeatedly that it may well be within Goodell’s authority to punish a player if he concludes that the player interfered with an investigation and thus engaged in conduct detrimental to the game.

New England beat the Colts 45-7 that season and went on to win the Super Bowl.

After Goodell rejected Brady’s appeal of the four-game suspension, the league went to federal court to get a judge’s approval of its handling of the case. But Judge Richard Berman ruled against the NFL a week before the season began, eliminating Brady’s four-game suspension.

Brady’s former linemate Matt Light told 7News Brady has been "tormented" by Goodell. He added that Deflategate was created from day one by the NFL and called Brady a good leader.

"He’s never felt the need to have to apologize or second-guess what he does or make things right," said Light. "He’s gonna do what he wants to do and again that’s fine if you’re a solid leader, it’s not as good if you have things play out like this."

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