The celebrated four-game suspension issue involving Tom Brady is no more.
The New England Patriots quarterback has been legally cleared to play for the New England Patriots this coming September 11 when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Until today, Brady's fate has been put on hold after the NFL meted the star quarterback a four-game suspension tied to the controversial Deflategate scandal that happened back in January.
To recall, Brady was meted the suspension in connection with accusations that he played a role in purposely deflating footballs in the Patriots' match with the Indianapolis Colts for the AFC championship.
The ruling comes as a setback for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell who has been known to manage with an iron hand as far as issues hounding the league are concerned. While he has been successful in prosecuting players in cases involving banned substances, the scenario may not be the same as far as criminal behavior or cheating NFL players are concerned.
As expected, U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman came out with a 40-page decision nullifying the suspension order for Brady.
Judge Berman ruled that Brady got unfair treatment and should not be meted any suspension for allegedly deflating the balls at that time. Though conflicting claims came out, the NFL lacked the evidence to accuse Brady, seeing that the league does not log the pressure of balls prior to games.
Nevertheless, while the decision seems like a victory on the part of Brady and the Patriots, the air may not yet be totally clear of the issue. The NFL filed an appeal on the decision Thursday, leaving some breadcrumbs on the whole fiasco.
"We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today's decision," Goodell said in a statement. "We will appeal today's ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner's responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end."
Unless something comes up on the appeal, Brady is free to suit up for the Patriots for now.
For his part, Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a statement on the matter as well.
"As I have said during this process and throughout his Patriots career, Tom Brady is a classy person of the highest integrity. He represents everything that is great about this game and this league."