Federal Judges Grill NFLPA's Kessler In Deflategate Hearing

Three federal appellate court judges sharply questioned NFLPA lawyer Jeffrey Kessler this afternoon over why Patriots QB Tom Brady should not have been suspended in the Deflategate controversy, raising the specter that his four-game suspension could be reinstated for the upcoming season. A lower court judge last year overturned Brady’s suspension, ruling the league had not been fair. However, that did not seem to be the attitude of the three judges.

“The evidence of the ball tampering is compelling if not overwhelming," said Judge Denny Chin. Judge Barrington Parker said Brady's explanation for why he destroyed his cellphone made "no sense," and termed Kessler's arguments hypertechnical. Kessler appeared flustered at times, telling the judges it was not their job to sift through the evidence. The feel of the hearing was the opposite of the lower court hearing, when the judge routinely sparred with the NFL attorney.