The interminable DeflateGate saga moved on to a new chapter Wednesday, when the Second Circuit Court declined Tom Brady’s request for an appeal. His four-game suspension stands, unless they opt to try and take it to the Supreme Court, which would then have to decide whether or not to hear the case.
Tom Brady’s last hope is the Supreme Court
After the Second Circuit Court denied Brady’s request for an appeal, his options for avoiding that four-game suspension are dwindling.
It’s been more than 500 days since Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a Brady pass during the 2015 AFC Championship and handed the ball over to an equipment manager, who promptly checked its air pressure. We’ve learned about a lot since then -- the NFL’s football requirements, Roger Goodell’s vindictive system of justice, Brady’s apparent propensity for destroying cell phones -- except, ironically, whether the Patriots actually deflated their footballs.
The answer to that question will probably never be known. This case is now all about whether Goodell overstepped his seeming unilateral disciplinary authority when he suspended Brady for four games last year. A federal judge ruled that he did, but that edict was overturned in April and upheld in July.
It’s all drawing much closer to an end, with the potential outcomes dwindling. Here’s an update of our post from June 14.
1. Brady’s appeal was declined
Yep, it happened. We should have seen it coming. From 2000-2010, only eight cases out of 27,856 completed appeals were reheard en banc in the Second Circuit. Brady serves his suspension, and backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo steps in.
2. Brady’s appeal is accepted
On the off chance that Brady’s case is reheard en banc -- perhaps the litany of amicus briefs filed in his favor may sway the justices who’ll decide his fate -- he would be granted a temporary stay until a verdict is reached. In that case, it’s possible he would be able to play this September, but could serve the four-game ban at a later date.
3. Brady’s appeal is denied, he appeals to the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court will never hear a case about deflated footballs, but it could hear a case that will impact labor law across the country. That’s the way Brady’s all-star legal team, headed by former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, framed its argument to the Second Circuit when it filed its appeal last month.
"The panel decision stands in stark conflict with fundamental rules of labor law and undermines the rights of union members and employers alike," the appeal reads.
The person who’s in charge of deciding whether cases from the Second Circuit reach the Supreme Court is its oldest justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
4. Supreme Court doesn’t agree to hear Brady’s case
If the Supreme Court were to reject Brady’s appeal, which is likely, then it’s the end of the line. DeflateGate would finally be dead.
Yes, for real.
5. It just ends
The only thing we’ll know is that it’s over. Nobody understands what happened and everyone is mad for one reason or another about the ending. Call it The Sopranos scenario.
6. Brady serves his suspension, but Garoppolo plays so well that he becomes the permanent starter
Brady gets All About Eve’d, just as he did to Drew Bledsoe 15 years before. Garoppolo is eventually named Super Bowl MVP and winds up marrying Gigi Hadid by the end of the decade.
7. Supreme Court agrees to hear Brady’s case
Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, Brady v. NFL. It fits, right?
Under this scenario, Brady would be able to play for the entirety of the 2016 season. If he does miss time for DeflateGate, it wouldn’t be until next year.
8a. Brady loses appeal, but gets Draymond Green to kick Goodell in the nuts
Green is well-versed in deflating balls.
OR
8b. Brady wins appeal, steps over Goodell on his way out of the courtroom like he’s LeBron
And then Goodell gives Brady the ol’ Draymond. Either way, someone’s getting kicked in the nuts. A win-win.
9. Patriots name Jim Podanoffsky an honorary captain for Week 1
What happened when Patriots fan Jim Podanoffsky posed for a photo w/Goodell at the Jim Kelly Golf Tournament... pic.twitter.com/VzIaBTyDG0
— Only In Boston (@OnlyInBOS) June 7, 2016
Nothing more needs to be said.
10. Garoppolo gets caught playing with deflated footballs
Bill Belichick’s decision to ignore a league-wide memo about where to film opposing coaches during games is what sparked Spygate. What would stop the Patriots from trying to sneak a few deflated balls past the officials this fall? It’s not like anything would happen, right?
11. Goodell reveals he’s really Brady’s father
That self-satisfied smile runs in the blood.
12. Brady’s lawyers successfully argue that a very much alive Goodell is legally dead and the entire case is tossed like it never happened
Last week, the official NFL Twitter account was hacked and declared Goodell dead, even though he was and still is alive. That’s enough for Brady’s first-rate legal team to bury the entire DeflateGate case once and for all.
13. Brady stalls and waits for a pardon from President Trump
Politically, it’d be a disaster. No swing state with an NFL team would EVER vote for someone who helped the Patriots. Then again, Donald Trump isn’t exactly known for his political savvy.
14. The St. Elsewhere ending
None of it was real: it all happened inside the mind of the artist who painted the Tom Brady courtroom sketch.
— nick pants (@nick_pants) August 13, 2015
15. Brady admits to deflating the footballs
Ha.
16. Goodell admits to staging a witch hunt against Brady
Ha. Ha.
17. Brady and the NFL agree to a settlement
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You don’t really think cooler heads will ever prevail, do you?
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