It looks like Touchdown Tom will be sitting out the first four games of the 2016 season for his role in defrauding and cheating the sport of a level playing field by slightly deflating footballs before the AFC Championship game in 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts. Brady initiallyfound a sympathetic ear in U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who overturned the four-game suspension handed down by Roger Goodell, but the league appealed Berman's decision and a panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned it in April, reinstating the four-game suspension. Brady then petitioned for a rehearing or, alternatively, a rehearing en banc—a rehearing in front of the full court. The Second Circuit's response today to both those requests was essentially "Nah, we're good."So, Brady's last resort is the Supreme Court of the United States and, my God, I hope he does it. I have never wanted anything more in my life than I want Tom Brady to literally take a case about deflated footballs all the way to the Supreme Court. Sure, there are interesting aspects to the case—like, is Roger Goodell abusing his power as commissioner, or did the union merely screw up by allowing him virtually unchecked authority in the CBA?—but at the end of the day this all comes down to deflated footballs and whether or not they actually were deflated intentionally. And it all started with Colts GM Ryan Grigson writing an absurd email to the NFL wherein he complained about the Patriots after getting pasted 45-7 in the AFC Championship and thanked the recipients for being "vigilant stewards of the shield." It is a complete and total circus, and it has to keep going.An image of the Second Circuit's denial of Tom Brady's petition is very brief but very to the point: pic.twitter.com/T29Y1O8LIp
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) July 13, 2016