Mike Segar/Reuters
If you thought Judge Richard Berman's decision to overturn Tom Brady's 4-game suspension marked the end of the Deflategate scandal, the NFL has something to say about that.
A league source told ESPN's Andrew Brandt that the NFL will "definitely" appeal the ruling, adding "100%."
The commissioner later confirmed this when he issued a statement on the judge's ruling (via Ian Rapoport):
"We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today's decision. We will appeal today's ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner's responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end. While the legal phase of this process continues, we look forward to focusing on football and the opening of the regular season."
There is definitely a strong reason for the NFL to appeal. If they lose this case, it opens the door for other players to take their cases to court and draw out the process and potentially undermine the league's ability to police the players.
But at the same time, there is a huge risk for the NFL. Not only has fan sentiment swung against the league with most just wanting the entire mess to go away, but now the regular season is about to start and the league is going to add a dark cloud over the regular season and in the eyes of most fans it will look like the league is just doing it because they are stubborn and can't let it go.
The fans may be right.