After two years, TWO YEARS, Deflategate is finally over. New England Patriots Quarterback has waived the white flag, and decided to serve his 4 game suspension. Of course this all steams from the 2014 Playoffs, where the Patriots were found of having deflated footballs during their playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. Roger Goodell then stripped the Pats of their first round pick, and ordered a 4 game suspension to Brady, which Brady fought, to the point that his suspension was overturned shortly before the 2015-2016 season.
On Wednesday, the US 2nd Circuit of Appeals denied Brady his request for a trial in front of all the judges, after a three-judge panel overturned the lower courts decision to vacate Brady’s suspension.
In addition to Brady’s decision to fulfill the suspension (you can read the whole thing on his Facebook page, right here), the NFL PA issued a statement as well:
“After careful consideration and discussion with Tom Brady, the NFLPA will not be seeking a stay of the four game suspension with the 2nd Circuit,” the union said. “This decision was made in the interest of certainty and planning for Tom prior to the New England Patriots season. We will continue to review all of our options and we reserve our rights to petition for cert to the Supreme Court.”
The Patriots will have to turn to third year pro Jimmy Garoppolo, for their first four games. They open the season against the Arizona Cardinals, in what would’ve been a tough game even with Brady. In the four game span that Brady will be gone, the Pats will face two divisional opponents, Miami and Buffalo, and two playoff teams, the aforementioned Cardinals, and the 7-9 Houston Texans, who won the AFC South last year. When all is said and done, the Patriots could easily go 3-1 during this four game stretch, with Brady returning to face the abysmal Cleveland Browns. And he’ll be fresh, and supremely pissed off. Good luck Browns.
Lastly, as a closing thought, thank god we don’t have to concern ourselves with slightly under-inflated footballs. The whole fiasco was a stupid stupid waste of time. Now we can all get on with our lives.
