Tom Brady Drops Appeal Of Deflate-gate Suspension, Will Miss 4 NFL Games

Tom Brady has dropped his appeal of a four-game suspension in the so-called ‘Deflate-gate’ controversy.

Tom Brady Drops Appeal Of Deflate-gate Suspension, Will Miss 4 NFL Games

The New England Patriots quarterback announced his decision in a Facebook post:

“I’m very grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received from Mr. [Robert] Kraft, the Kraft family, coach [Bill] Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans,” Brady wrote.

“It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.”

The move means Brady, who will turn 39 in August, will be suspended for the first four games of the NFL season for his role in the deflation of footballs in the AFC Championship Game in January 2015.

The NFL imposed the suspension on Brady in May 2015 after independent investigator Ted Wells, who had been hired by the league, found it “more probable than not” that the Patriots QB was involved with locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski in a scheme to take air out of the football used in the game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots defeated the Colts 45-7, and went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

In the original investigation, the NFL had demanded to see the text message’s in Brady’s phone, but lacked subpoena power to force the quarterback to comply. In the report, Wells stated that Brady, who answered questions over the course of one day, did not hand over personal information such as texts and emails. Brady stated it was his practice to destroy his phone and SIM cards whenever he got a replacement phone.

In July 2015, when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Brady’s appeal of the suspension, the league said that the athlete’s “deliberate destruction of potentially relevant evidence went beyond a mere failure to cooperate in the investigation and supported a finding that he had sought to hide evidence in his own participation in the underlying scheme to alter the footballs.”

Earlier this month, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a one-sentence rejection of requests by the National Football League Players Association and Brady to reconsider an April decision that reinstated the suspension.

The court’s action left intact a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel that found Goodell acted within his powers by upholding the suspension of the star quarterback.

Chief Judge Katzmann, who was the lone judge to dissent in April, said that Goodell “exceeded his authority, to Brady’s detriment, by resting Brady’s discipline on factual findings not made in the Wells Report.”

Judges Denny Chin and Barrington D. Parker ruled in favor of the league, while Chief Judge Robert A. Katzmann ruled for Brady.

In May, the NFLPA filed a petition with a federal appeals court asking for a rehearing of the case by a three-judge panel or the entire court, but that was denied this week.

Many Patriots fans have defended Brady, claiming he did nothing wrong. Among them is actor/director Ben Affleck, who vehemently backed the QB in a recent episode of “Any Given Wednesday” with Bill Simmons on HBO.

FOXBORO, MA – NOVEMBER 23: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots throws during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on November 23, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)