DeflateGate Professor Michael McCann: 'Huge Win For Tom Brady'
BOSTON (CBS) – Tom Brady's suspension for allegedly being "generally aware" of a scheme to deflate footballs before the AFC Championship Game was overturned by a federal judge, and the University of New Hampshire professor teaching a course on DeflateGate has weighed in on the decision.
Michael McCann, a legal analyst for Sports Illustrated who is also the Director of the Sports and Entertainment Law Institute at UNH, called the decision a "huge win" for both Brady and the NFL Players Association.
On Wednesday night, McCann began teaching the first ever DeflateGate course at UNH.
The class description says the course is not just about deflated footballs, but instead about the "legal, regulatory and journalistic systems governing sports."
Following Thursday's decision, McCann said Judge Richard Berman seemed "completely underwhelmed by the NFL's legal arguments."
After Roger Goodell issued his ruling to uphold Brady's 4-game suspension, the NFL immediately filed a motion in a Manhattan courthouse asking a judge to confirm the decision.
This, McCann says, may have been a fatal flaw in the NFL's case.
It is currently unclear if the NFL will appeal the judge's decision to overturn Brady's suspension.
The Patriots open their season on September 10 when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium.
