Deflategate: NFL Submits Reply Brief in Appeal of District Court Decision

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On Monday, December 21, 2015, counsel for the NFL submitted its reply brief to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the “Deflategate” litigation.

In the 2014 NFL Playoffs, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was allegedly involved in a scheme to advantageously tamper with game balls used by Brady in the AFC championship game versus the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL suspended Brady for the first four games of the 2015 Regular Season.

Brady appealed the decision to an arbitrator, who, through the provisions of the NFL-NFLPA collective bargaining agreement, was NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — the same person who initially dealt the four-game suspension. It therefore was unsurprising that Goodell the arbitrator affirmed the decision of Goodell the commissioner.

The NFLPA then sued the NFL in federal court on behalf of Brady. Judge Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ultimately reversed the arbitration proceeding and terminated the suspension. Judge Berman reasoned that the league, in suspending Brady, failed to provide the quarterback with proper notice — one of the few reasons a court will meddle in the decisions of a private entity (as compared to a government entity).

The NFL subsequently appealed the decision to the Second Circuit. Both the NFL and NFLPA filed their initial argument briefs, and on Monday, the NFL submitted its reply brief. In sum, the NFL argues that Judge Berman’s decision was incorrect because the Labor Management Relations Act requires courts to uphold arbitration rulings “so long as [a decision] is plausibly based in the parties’ CBA.”

Oral arguments before the Second Circuit are scheduled for March 2016.

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