Looking back over the first installment of the top sports stories of 2016, this entry is one that seems like it could have appeared on similar lists for many years prior.
The never-ending “Deflategate” saga dates back to almost two years prior to this very post. Following the AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 18 2015, allegations emerged that the Patriots were intentionally deflating footballs for Brady’s liking to help them in their 45-7 victory.
After a nauseating amount of back-and-forth between Brady, the NFL, the NFLPA, Manhattan attorney Ted Wells, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and seemingly everyone else you can think of, the NFL eventually handed its golden boy a four-game suspension on May 11, 2015 for his involvement in Deflategate.
Football fans across the nation thought that the scandal had finally been laid to rest. Wrong! It spilled into the entire first half of 2016. Finally after a series of appeals, Brady’s suspension was upheld on July 13, and on July 15, Brady released a statement in which he accepted his punishment, finally putting all the Deflategate drama to rest.
After sitting out four games, and doing a lot of vacationing, Brady returned to the Patriots, playing like the Brady of old.
Join us tomorrow for the next installment of the top 10 sports stories of the year as we look at what it truly means to go out on top.
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