The notion that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady could file an injunction should he lose the appeal of his four-game Deflategate suspension was first floated in June by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Schefter suggested then that by filing the injunction, Brady would be able to play while a ruling was determined. Now, after Tuesday's decision by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell not to rescind or reduce Brady's suspension, it appears that's exactly what the future Hall of Famer plans on doing, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
"You file for a temporary injunction so that Brady can end up playing in the opener," Schefter said at the time. "In talking to people who I have spoken to, and we will see how this plays out, there's a real chance they Tom Brady will end up playing in the opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Per Florio, the NFLPA and Brady will ask the judge to either submit a ruling on an expedited timeline - by Sep. 4 to be exact - or the union will file an injunction on the Patriots quarterback's behalf.
Interestingly, per a separate article from Florio, the New York case, filed by the league, has been assigned to Judge Richard M. Berman, considered to be on the "liberal" side, which would seem to be good news for the union and Brady.
Of course, as Florio notes, the NFLPA would likely still prefer that Judge David Doty in Minnesota, where the union filed, actually wind up overseeing the case. Since Berman's initial order gives the union until August 13 to "set a conference," it gives them time to push forward their case in Minnesota, hopefully landing it in Doty's lap.
