AFL-CIO files court brief in favor of Tom Brady in Deflategate
The AFL-CIO has filed an amicus brief on the side of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in his Deflategate case.
In April, a three-judge panel reinstated Brady’s four-game suspension that was given to him before the start of the 2015 season. The NFL believes Brady played a role in a scheme to deflate footballs before the AFC Championship Game in January 2015. Brady had successfully appealed the suspension in front of a federal judge last September.
The AFL-CIO—a pro-labor federation—filed the brief Monday, calling for the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the suspension. Brady’s lawyers have asked for the court to hear the appeal en banc, in which all 14 judges of the 2nd Circuit Court would rehear the case.
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In the brief, the AFL-CIO accuses Goodell of acting “arbitrarily as an employer seeking to justify his own disciplinary decision rather than as a neutral arbitrator considering an appeal.”
