New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will sit out a four game ban at the start of the NFL season after deciding not to take his fight to the US Supreme Court.
The 38-year-old American football legend was considering an appeal to the highest court in the land following his suspension in the wake of ‘Deflategate’.
He announced on his Facebook page that he would ‘no longer proceed with the legal process’, having already been unsuccessful in his appearance before the US court of appeals.
Brady will miss the first four matches of the season, which gets underway in September.
He was originally banned in 2015 when it was found that the Patriots has used balls inflated below the NFL’s set limits, hence Deflategate.
He has always denied any knowledge of the decreased pressure in the balls, though the NFL deemed that he was complicit. Deflated balls are considered easier to throw and catch.
In the NFL the home team provides the balls – in most field sports they come from the organising body. The Patriots won the match in question against the Indianapolis Colts and went on to win the Super Bowl that season.
