Brady Suspension Upheld, NFL Wins Over Tom Brady

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady must serve his 4 game suspension for "deflategate".

The 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 4 game ban today in a 2-1 decision, releasing the following statement on the matter.

"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."

Brady was accused of conspiring to deflate footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship game played on January, 18, 2015. New England defeated Indianapolis 45-7.

Commissioner Roger Goodell handed down the suspension last offseason, but Brady appealed and U.S. District Judge Richard overturned the suspension before the NFL made an appeal of their own.

The NFL league office released the following statement following today's decision.

"We are pleased the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game. That authority has been recognized by many courts and has been expressly incorporated into every collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA for the past 40 years."

Naturally, the NFLPA (player's association) isn't happy with the decision.

"We fought Roger Goodell's suspension of Tom Brady because we know he did not serve as a fair arbitrator and that players' rights were violated under our collective bargaining agreement."

While the NFL hopes the latest decision is the last chapter of deflategate, Brady can actually request a re-hearing in front of the panel who came to today's decision.

If his suspension sticks, Brady will miss the Patriots first four contests against the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.