NEW YORK (AP) – The root question of the “Deflategate” scandal might be following New England quarterback Tom Brady for a while, regardless of a judge’s ruling in his favor.
U.S. District Judge Richard Berman freed Brady from his four-game suspension Thursday, blaming NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for mishandling Brady’s appeal and ordering a stiff penalty without a proper basis.
The judge was never asked to decide whether Brady tried to deflate game balls. And he didn’t shine a bright light on the subject.
But the litigation did result in the release of Brady’s testimony before Goodell during his early summer appeal. And that testimony showed Brady cared passionately about game balls. Especially when the weather forecast was bad, like it was in January when the Patriots were set to play in the AFC championship game where the controversy was born.
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