FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) --New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's appeal hearing regarding his punishment for Deglategate has been set.
A source familiar with the case confirmed to FOX25 Sports Director Tom Leyden the hearing will be heard on June 23 and possibly continued on June 25. The date of the appeal was first reported by ESPN.
Brady received a four-game suspension on Monday, May 11 in the wake of the Wells Report, detailing the Patriots alleged involvement in a scheme to deflate footballs below the allowable level prior to the AFC Championship Game in January.
The Patriots were fined $1 million and also lost two draft choices for their lack of cooperation during the investigation headed by Ted Wells. The fine and loss of draft choices was accepted without appeal by Patriots chairman Robert Kraft.
Brady has not addressed the media on the deflated-football matter since the Patriots won Super Bowl XLIX. He answered questions from Jim Gray at a previously scheduled town hall discussion at Salem State University on May 6, but did not go into detail, nor refute anything in the Wells Report.
The Patriots offered their own rebuttal by creating a comprehensive website - WellsReportContext.com
Brady will be represented in his appeal by well-respected sports attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who has won numerous cases against the NFL over the years. Kessler and the NFLPA specifically requested NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recuse himself from Brady's appeal, citing Goodell would be called as a witness in their presentation.
Goodell refused to recuse himself, which is his right based on the current terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA.
Should Brady's team not receive a reduction of his suspension, they could pursue an appeal in federal court.
