New York: A US federal judge on Thursday overturned a four-game suspension imposed on New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady by the National Football League for his alleged role in the “Deflate-gate” controversy.
The ruling was a stunning legal victory for Brady, one of the sport’s biggest names, who had repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in connection with the intentional deflating of footballs before a January play-off game.
It came exactly a week before the Patriots — the defending Super Bowl champions — kick off the 2015-16 season on September 10, hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
A league investigation had found that Brady was probably “generally aware” that Patriots employees had purposely deflated the balls — making them easier to grip, grab and throw — and found him uncooperative over questions about the January game.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had suspended him for the first four games of the 2015-16 season over the incident at the AFC championship game. The Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts and went on to win the Super Bowl.
But Judge Richard Berman determined that Goodell had gone too far with the punishment.
“The Management Council’s motion to confirm the arbitration award is denied and the Players Association’s motion to vacate the arbitration award is granted,” Berman wrote in a 40-page decision.
“Brady’s four-game suspension is vacated, effective immediately.”
The NFL Players Association welcomed the ruling, saying that the rights of all players under the collective bargaining agreement had been affirmed.
“We thank Judge Berman for his time, careful consideration of the issue and fair and just result,” it said in a statement.
— AFP
