Tom Brady, Roger Goodell Ordered to Appear in Court for Deflategate Appeal

As a resolution in the Tom Brady Deflategate case continues to elude those involved, the judge in charge has requested the presence of both the New England Patriots quarterback and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

According to SportsCenter, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman has ordered that Brady and Goodell must appear on Aug. 31 if the two sides have yet to reach an agreement by that point.

Goodell suspended Brady for the first four games of the regular season because of his alleged involvement in the Deflategate scandal, but the NFL Players Association is looking to get the ruling overturned. Both Brady and Goodell have appeared in court already, but the judge did not require them to attend Wednesday's hearing, per ESPN's Sal Paolantonio (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

Michael McCann of Sports Illustrated explained the reasoning behind the judge's decision to request their presence at a later date, though:

According to Larry Neumeister and Tom Hays of NECN.com, Berman has pushed for a resolution outside the confines of the courtroom throughout the process.

"A settlement seems like a logical and rational option," Berman said.

The judge would also like to either hand down a ruling or see some type of settlement reached by Sept. 4, which is six days before the season opener between the Pats and Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Neumeister and Hays.

The NFL and NFLPA have attempted to hash something out, but the talks have been futile to this point.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Brady has provided a glimmer of hope by showing a willingness to accept some type of suspension if it is on the basis of not cooperating with the league's Deflategate investigation rather than an admittance of guilt regarding Deflategate.

At the same time, Schefter believes the NFL is standing firm in its demand for Brady to admit some type of involvement in Deflategate, which is why the two parties have been locked in a stalemate.

Both sides are stubborn, which is why the case has gone this far. They would likely prefer to have some semblance of control over their respective fates rather than leaving it in a judge's hands, and it seems as though Berman is doing everything he can to avoid having to be the ultimate decider.

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