Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is back in court again Monday for his lawsuit against the NFL.
Brady is fighting his four-game suspension that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered over the “deflate-gate” accusation that stemmed from the last playoff season. The federal judge in New York is requiring Brady and Goodell to appear at a hearing that is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET.
Berman has said he plans to make his decision by Friday, though it’s possible both sides could reach a settlement. Patriots fans are waiting with bated breath before the team’s first game of the season on Sept. 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Brady’s suspension was first handed down in May, along with a fine levied on the New England Patriots. The suspension was then upheld by the NFL in July. The punishment revolves around the deflation of footballs used during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18. The Patriots won that game 45-7, then went on to win the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 against the Seattle Seahawks.
“I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either,” Brady wrote in a Facebook post last month.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he regrets not taking legal action in May when the team was first fined by the NFL.
“I was wrong to put my faith in the league,” Kraft said during a news conference last month, adding that Brady “is a person of great integrity and is a great ambassador of the game both on and off the field.”
Attorney Ted Wells, who has led the deflate-gate investigation, stated in May that it “is more than probable” that Brady “was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities” involving the release of air from the Patriots’ footballs. Brady has denied the allegation.
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