Per Reuters, the US Court of Appeals has reinstated the suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Two of the three judges sided with the NFL and issued the following statement:
"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. Accordingly, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND with instructions to confirm the award."
This means that the Court of Appeals is sending the case back to the lower courts with the instruction that Berman has to confirm NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's original ruling. Per Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann, "In such a scenario, the "loser" could petition the Second Circuit for what's known as an "en banc " rehearing. In it, other appellate judges on the Second Circuit review the matter. En banc rehearings in the Second Circuit are extraordinarily rare. Available data suggests that petitions for en banc rehearings are granted at a rate well under 1%. A majority of the Second Circuit's active judges must approve such a rehearing and almost never do."
Brady is now suspended for the first four games of the season, until further notice. Brady is scheduled to miss the following games:
Week 1: Sunday Night Football at Arizona Cardinals
Week 2: Miami Dolphins
Week 3: Thursday Night Football vs Houston Texans
Week 4: Buffalo Bills
Brady recently restructured his contract in an extension that will result in the financial loss of just $250,000 instead of losing $2.25 million due to the suspension.
More on this to follow.