Judge Richard Berman Happy The Patriots Won Super Bowl: 'DeflateGate Is Finally Put To Rest'
BOSTON (CBS) -- After watching the Patriots pull off the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history, most New England fans couldn't help but feel a little vindication.
Just a few months prior, quarterback Tom Brady had to sit out the first four games of the season, part of the team's punishment for the DeflateGate saga. That long and drawn-out soap opera included an 18-month legal battle that saw commissioner Roger Goodell's suspension of Brady get thrown out in court, only to have the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturn that decision a few months later.
The Patriots claiming their fifth Super Bowl championship in February put DeflateGate to rest, and as it turns out, it's not just Pats fans who feel that way. Judge Richard Berman, the man who wiped out Brady's suspension in September 2015, agrees.
"I always thought in the back of my mind when I had the case, that this is a case that should be settled on the field. Not in the courts, not with an arbitrator, and ultimately, that's what happened," Berman told The MMQB in a recent interview. "And in such a dramatic way that it left no doubt."
"I think Deflategate is finally put to rest by that Super Bowl," added Berman. "Settling it on the field was really the most important to me."
Berman's decision allowed Brady to play the entire 2015 season, but eight months later it was overturned by the Second Circuit Court by a vote of 2-1. Berman said it took some time to get over the Court's decision, but watching the Patriots win helped ease that pain.
"It took awhile, so the Super Bowl was good for me too," said Berman.
The judge added that he would rule the same way if Brady's case was brought to his court again.