The NFL Players' Association filed an appeal Thursday on behalf of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who received a four-game suspension as punishment for his role in the "Deflategate" scandal. The organization also requested a neutral arbitrator to hear the appeal, given the league's "history of inconsistency and arbitrary decisions in disciplinary matters."
An investigation by league-appointed lawyer Ted Wells into whether the Patriots used intentionally underinflated footballs in the team's conference championship game against the Indianapolis Colts in January found that the Patriots signal-caller was "at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities." Brady was subsequently issued a four-game suspension effective at the start of the 2015-2016 NFL season, while the Patriots organization was fined $1 million and lost two draft picks.
Both Brady and the team have denied wrongdoing — despite rather incriminating text messages included in the report. Earlier Thursday, the Patriots published nearly 20,000 words of rebuttal to the report to a dedicated website, and a lawyer for the team claimed that the "deflator" referenced in the texts is a Patriots locker room attendant who was given the moniker because he was trying to lose weight.
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