Judge overturns Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for ‘Deflategate’

A federal judge said Thursday that National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell went too far when he imposed a four-game suspension on New England quarterback Tom Brady for his alleged role in the so-called “Deflategate.”

An NFL report released in May said Patriots personnel probably deflated the team’s footballs during a playoff game against the Colts, making them easier to grip by the quarterback. Brady was suspended for the first four games of the NFL season and the Patriots were fined $1 million.

But U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said Thursday that Goodell “dispensed his own brand of industrial justice,” and Brady could not be suspended for “general awareness” of others’ conduct, as the NFL report indicated.

The league can appeal the judge’s ruling.