Consider Deflategate deflated. A federal judge tossed Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension on Thursday, Sept. 3, making the NFL quarterback eligible to play the New England Patriots’ season opener.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell issued a four-game suspension in May, after a preliminary investigation report, commissioned by the NFL, claimed that Brady had knowledge of Pats staffers deflating footballs before the New England Patriots played the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game this past January.
While no evidence directly linked Brady to tampering with the balls, the investigator found that the quarterback was “at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities” of the staffers, locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski.
Manhattan federal court judge Richard Berman announced the decision to nullify the suspension on Thursday, ending Brady’s bitter dispute with the league. In late July, the three-time MVP filed a lawsuit against the NFL, saying it had no right to suspend him in the ongoing Deflategate scandal. The star quarterback filed the lawsuit along with the NFL Players Association.
He also addressed his battle with Goodell via Facebook. “I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision to uphold the 4 game suspension against me,” the father of three wrote on July 29. “I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.”
Judge Berman’s ruling means that Brady, 38, is eligible to play in the Patriots’ opening game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in nine days.
Amid the tense situation for the star QB, he and his wife, Gisele Bundchen, have also been dealing with their fair share of issues, as revealed in the new issue of Us Weekly. A source tells Us that the parents of Benjamin, 5, and Vivian, 2, have been having intense fights since he was hit with the suspension.
“Tom’s become very nasty and irritable and started acting out on her,” one source told Us of the A-listers, who didn’t celebrate their birthdays together this past summer.
Another Brady insider revealed to Us that Bundchen, 35, even consulted with a divorce lawyer. “Tom thinks it’s only a threat,” the source told Us. “But this is definitely a rough patch.”
For more details on Brady and Bundchen, pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now!
