NFLPA Files Petition on Behalf of Tom Brady: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The NFL Players Association filed a federal appeal of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension Wednesday in a Minnesota District Court.

In a statement released by the NFLPA, it said Brady's suspension's was "absurd" and criticized the process that went into the decision. 

"A collectively bargained policy already exists regarding tampering with equipment that provides only for fines, not suspensions," the statement read. "Troy Vincent ignored this policy when he issued his initial discipline. The policy that Vincent did apply to Brady only covers teams and team executives, not players. The NFL once again violated players’ right to advance notice of discipline to try to justify unprecedented punishment."

USA Today's Tom Pelissero provided NFL attorney Daniel L. Nash of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's reaction to the NFLPA's attempt to vacate the suspension:

"

(Brady) can’t dispute that he failed to cooperate. He can’t dispute that he destroyed (his) phone knowing that it contained information that had been requested by the investigators,” Nash said.

He didn’t present any evidence that challenged the conclusions in the Wells Report about the Patriots employees, and the bottom line is that the commissioner made a judgment that this was conduct detrimental, and under the collective bargaining agreement, he has the authority and, in fact, the responsibility to impose discipline in that circumstance.

"

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who heard Brady's case, upheld his four-game suspension. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback has maintained his innocence regarding the Deflategate controversy, but Goodell was not convinced during the appeal.

"The most significant new information that emerged in connection with the appeal was evidence that on or about March 6, 2015—the very day that he was interviewed by Mr. (Ted) Wells and his investigated team—Mr. Brady instructed his assistant to destroy the cellphone that he had been using since early 2014, a period that included that AFC Championship Game and the initial weeks of the subsequent investigation," Goodell's 20-page statement read (via NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal).

The NFL has since asked a federal court in New York to uphold the suspension, per Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News. To many, that move was seen as an attempt to block the NFLPA from getting the case heard in Minnesota, where the courts have tended to be more friendly to union appeals.    

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.