Tom Brady and Deflategate saga takes an ironic Super Bowl twist

Imagine the sport’s biggest event sharing media time with its silliest scandal. Sure, hearings get delayed and re-scheduled all the time, but the irony is perfect, writes Gregg Patton.

The NFL’s four-game suspension of the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was last month thrown out by a judge who found major flaws in the NFL’s investigative and discipline processes. As expected, the league appealed.  Elsa/Getty Images/AFP
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The NFL’s ongoing attempt to make Tom Brady pay for whatever it was he did – or maybe did not do – with regard to the so-called ‘Deflategate’ scandal has taken a kooky turn.

The US Court of Appeals has scheduled the NFL v Brady case to be heard during Super Bowl week next February.

Hilarious!

Imagine the sport’s biggest event sharing media time with its silliest scandal. Sure, hearings get delayed and re-scheduled all the time, but the irony is perfect.

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To recap, the NFL’s four-game suspension of the New England Patriots quarterback was last month thrown out by a judge who found major flaws in the NFL’s investigative and discipline processes. As expected, the league appealed. Meanwhile, Brady is playing. In fact, he has led the defending Super Bowl champions to a 3-0 start.

Reports suggest that Brady would be willing to accept a fine for non-cooperation, but he will never admit to any wrongdoing or accept suspension.

The NFL, which has no direct proof of Brady’s involvement in deflating game balls, continues to insist that he sit out.

So the legal battle rages on. Appeals are rarely overturned, so Brady seems to hold an advantage. But the NFL has taken a stubborn stance on the sanctity of its own authority. It may be willing to pursue the case for years, up the legal chain, all the way to the US Supreme Court.

We can only hope that, should that occur, the Supreme Court also finds a spot on its busy calendar, say, in 2018 during Super Bowl week.

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