'Deflategate' Decision News Update: NFL Appeals Ruling After Judge Favors QB Tom Brady

No more four-game suspension for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after a federal judge ruled in his favor in line with the "Deflategate" scandal.

In a decision released Thursday, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell went to great lengths to punish Brady, as reported by ESPN. This was despite the NFL player's claim that he had no hand in the deflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game versus the Indianapolis Colts.

The judge also said that there were "several significant legal deficiencies'' in how the NFL handled the controversy involving Brady. Berman said that the league did not notify potential penalties in advance, refused to produce a key witness and tried to discipline a player based on the wrongdoing of somebody else.

"Because there was no notice of a four-game suspension in the circumstances presented here, Commissioner Goodell may be said to have 'dispensed his own brand of industrial justice,''' Berman wrote in his decision quoted by ESPN.

The judge highlighted that the player has the right to notice as dictated by the collective bargaining agreement.

"The court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others,'' the judge wrote.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement that he had no doubts on Brady's integrity.

"As I have said during this process and throughout his Patriots career, Tom Brady is a classy person of the highest integrity. He represents everything that is great about this game and this league. Judge Richard Berman understood this and we are greatly appreciative of his thoughtful decision that was delivered today. Now, we can return our focus to the game on the field," Kraft added.

Meanwhile, Goodell also reacted to the judge's decision saying they are grateful for him for hearing the cause but noted that they disagree with it.

"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," the NFL commissioner said in a statement quoted by CNN.

This seems not to be the end of the issue as the NFL already appealed the decision late Thursday to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, as per ESPN.

But Goodell said that despite the legal issue still ongoing, the league would focus its attention to the opening of the season.

"While the legal phase of this process continues, we look forward to focusing on football and the opening of the regular season," the commissioner in a USA Today report.