Tom Brady will miss the first four weeks of the New England Patriots schedule. (Getty)
The suspension is back on.
A U.S. Appeals Court reinstated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension on Monday, overturning a lower judge and siding with the league in regards to the Deflategate incident.
It also means that the New England Patriots quarterback will be sidelined this season, missing the opening four weeks of his team’s season this year. Here’s who won’t have to face Brady in the opening weeks of the 2016-17 season:
- Week 1: at Arizona Cardinals, 8:30 p.m.
- Week 2: vs. Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m.
- Week 3: vs. Houston Texans, 8:25 p.m.
- Week 4: vs. Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.
Brady will be eligible to return to the gridiron for New England’s Week 5 tilt at the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 9.
Of course, the spotlight on Brady has been bright since the start of the Deflategate investigation found the quarterback more probable than not to have ordered his team’s equipment staff to deflate footballs against the Indianapolis Colts.
This latest ruling was made on a 2-1 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann dissented, saying:
I am troubled by the Commissioner’s decision to uphold the unprecedented four-game suspension. The Commissioner failed to even consider a highly relevant alternative penalty.
Brady and the Patriots have yet to respond to the suspension.