Manhattan Courtroom Takes Up 'DeflateGate' Standoff Between Brady, Goodell

04:45

August 12, 2015

Curt Nickisch

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady warms up during an NFL football training camp in Foxborough, Mass. in August. (Charles Krupa/AP)

A Manhattan courtroom will take up the standoff over the scandal known as DeflateGate Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. At stake is whether the reigning Super Bowl MVP will start the regular season.

The NFL has asked the court to rule that its four-game suspension of New England Patriots QB Tom Brady for his alleged role in DeflateGate is justified under its contract with the players' union. The NFL says Brady must have known footballs were under-inflated in a playoff game.

But Brady says he has done nothing wrong. And the players’ union is asking the judge to block his punishment.

Both Brady and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell are expected to appear in the federal courtroom in New York.

Judge Richard Berman will eventually decide the issue, but only if he can’t get the two sides to come to an agreement. He asked them to conduct “good faith settlement” talks ahead of the conference. The judge will open the courtroom meeting with an update on progress on negotiations.

More: WBUR's Bob Oakes previews the hearing with Michael McCann, the director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at the University of New Hampshire School of Law:

This segment aired on August 12, 2015.

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