The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has denied the petition filed by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) for a rehearing regarding the athlete's suspension. This means that there's a chance that Brady will not be able to play the first games of the upcoming season.
Brady's suspension stems from his alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal that occurred during the 2015 AFC championship game between the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. At that time, allegations were thrown at the New England team stating that its staff members, including Brady were aware that the Patriots used footballs that have been partially deflated.
Due to the violation, Brady was sentenced to a four-game suspension for the 2015 regular season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. However, after the case was turned over to the federal court, Judge Richard Berman removed Brady's suspension due to legal deficiencies. However, the suspension was reinstated again in April of this year by the U.S. Court of Appeals.
This prompted Brady and the NFLPA to request for a rehearing regarding the matter. However, on Wednesday, the court issued a decision to reject the proposal submitted by the parties, ESPN reported.
Despite the ruling, the NFLPA noted that it will still continue to seek other legal avenues regarding Brady's case.
"We are disappointed with the decision denying a rehearing, as there were clear violations of our collective bargaining agreement by the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell," the organization said in a statement according to ESPN. "Despite today's results, the track record of this league office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed."
Since the 2nd U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals has denied Brady's request for a rehearing, his only option now is to take the case to the Supreme Court. However, if this does not work out for the athlete, then the Patriots might not be able to play with their top quarterback during the first four games of the 2016 season.
