It appears that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will serve his suspension after all.
A year after a lower court overturned the NFL-imposed four-star suspension on Brady for his role in the ‘Deflategate’ Scandal, an appeals court has now sided with the league, overturning the original decision and upholding a four-game suspension for the future Hall of Famer.
“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,” the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a 2-1 decision in New York, via ESPN and the Associated Press.
The Patriots fell to Peyton Manning and the Broncos 20-18 in the AFC Championship Game during the 2015-16 season. Now the Pats, at least for four games in 2016, will be forced to start backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who has appeared in just 11 NFL games, completing 20-of-31 passes for 188 yards and one touchdown.
