Patriots Fans File DeflateGate Lawsuit Against Goodell, NFL
BOSTON (CBS) -- Most Patriots fans want DeflateGate to simply go away. Others are now taking their own fight to federal court.
A group of New England fans have filed a lawsuit against the NFL, citing emotional distress, in hopes of getting the team's draft picks back from the league. In total, sevens fans from Massachusetts, New Jersey and Florida are going after the league and commissioner Roger Goodell, accusing both of fraud and negligence. The suit was signed by Maine attorney Seth Carey.
"This case is brought by New England Patriots fans on behalf of all Patriots fans who believe the New England Patriots professional football team were harmed by the Defendants' arbitrary and capricious decision to revoke the Patriots first round draft choice in the April 28, 2016 NFL Draft," the suit claims.
"Unless enforcement of the Defendants' unlawful policies and practices are enjoined, the Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury be being deprived of their teams' first round draft choice," the suit read.
READ: Full Suit Filed Against NFL By Patriots Fans
One Patriots season-ticket holder, Todd Orsatti, claims the DeflateGate saga has his young daughter questioning her fandom.
"Orsatti attends games with his 7-year-old daughter. She will no longer go to games with him because she thinks the games are fixed by the NFL after her team was punished based merely on conjecture. She is talking about finding another team, which has left Orsatti 'devastated,'" the lawsuit states.
The suit takes aim at attorney Ted Wells and the language used in his report on the matter, which stated it was "more probable than not" that Brady was "generally aware" of a ball deflation scheme in the 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts.
"For Patriots haters, Deflategate seemed like a gift. For many scientists, Deflategate seemed like a lot of hot air," it states.
It also goes after Patriots owner Robert Kraft, listed as a defendant, for not doing enough to get the NFL to reverse their punishment.
"Defendant Robert Kraft had remedies to attempt to get Plaintiffs' draft pick back, but he chose his fellow billionaire owners above the Plaintiffs and fellow fans," it read, accusing Kraft of violating the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act.
Goodell suspended Brady for four games, fined the Patriots $1 million and vacated their 2016 first round pick and a fourth round pick in 2017. Brady's suspension was overturned in appeals court by Judge Richard Berman, a decision that is currently being appealed by the NFL.