Tom Brady Deflategate Suspension Reinstated

FOXBOROUGH, MA—Tom Brady's four-game suspension from the Deflategate controversy has been reinstated by a federal appeals court in New York.

The vote from the three-judge panel was 2-1 according to the Boston Herald. Last year, a federal judge dropped the suspension.

Brady can appeal the ruling.

If the ruling stands, Brady appears to be poised to sit out games against the Cardinals, Dolphons, Texans and Bills.

A judge said in the ruling was based on a need to determine whether the arbitration proceedings and award "met the minimum legal standards."

"Our role is not to determine for ourselves 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," said Judge Barrington D. Parker. "Nor is it our role to second‐guess the arbitrator’s procedural rulings. Our obligation is limited to determining whether the arbitration proceedings and award met the minimum legal standards established by the Labor Management Relations Act.

"Our review of the record yields the firm conclusion that the Commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion to resolve an intramural controversy between the League and a player."

In a statement, the NFL said that they are "pleased" that the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that "the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game."