Tom Brady Deflategate Lawsuit Reportedly Will Be Re-Filed in Manhattan Court

The NFL Players Association will re-file its lawsuit against the league on behalf of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a New York City court Thursday after being rejected in Minneapolis, according to Albert Breer of NFL Network.

Per USA Today's Tom Pelissero, the union went to a U.S. District Court in Minneapolis late Wednesday afternoon, but as Breer shows, the judge had the case transferred to New York:

NFLPA lawyer Jeffery Kessler said it didn't matter where the case was heard, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:

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“It really doesn’t matter to us where the case is,” Kessler told PFT by phone. “What we finally have is a neutral forum. Before a neutral forum, we are very confident in our position.”

Asked about the appointment of the New York case to Judge Richard M. Berman, Kessler said, “We’re very happy to have him.”

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Patriots owner Robert Kraft came to Brady's defense Wednesday after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the quarterback's four-game suspension Tuesday for his purported involvement in New England's Deflategate scandal.

Brady's lawyer, Andrew Kessler, agreed with Kraft's scathing indictment of the NFL.

"It's just grasping at straws to try to divert attention from their complete lack of evidence or legal process to justify what's happened here," Kessler said, according to Pelissero. "You heard the outrage today from Mr. Kraft. That was completely justified. I've never more agreed with Robert Kraft in my life, about anything."

The destruction of Brady's cellphone has been a point of controversy and has been pedaled as the reason his four-game ban wasn't reduced or wiped out entirely. Goodell emphasized the phone as a primary factor in his judgment to keep Brady off the field.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports weighed in on the latest development:

This legal battle figures to drag on, and it will only add to the backlash from Deflategate, regardless of the outcome. Assuming Brady's suspension holds, second-year signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo will take the reins of the Pats offense.

New England opens the 2015 campaign with a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and a road trip to the Buffalo Bills before hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of its Week 4 bye. The final game Brady is slated to miss is an away contest against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Interestingly, his return date would be Week 6 at the Indianapolis Colts, the team on the other side of the Deflategate controversy during the AFC Championship Game. The Pats won that tilt in a 45–7 blowout and went on to defeat the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.