National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered a four game suspension for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady arising out of the "Deflategate" scandal. But a federal judge has overturned that decision. Goodell was acting as an arbitrator (I thought neutrality was a requirement for being an arbitrator) under the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the Players Association. Both sides went to court, the NFL seeking confirmation of Goodell's award, and the Players Association seeking to have the award vacated. The judge vacated the award. NFL Management Council v. NFL Players Association (US District Court for Southern District of New York, 09/03/2015). Here are the reasons.

1. Brady didn't have prior notice.

"The Court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to deflate footballs, and non-cooperation with the ensuing Investigation. Brady also had no notice that his discipline would be the equivalent of the discipline imposed upon a player who used performance enhancing drugs."

"No NFL policy or precedent notifies players that they may be disciplined (much less suspended) for general awareness of misconduct by others."

"Commissioner Goodell contends that Brady’s discipline stems from the general CBA policy precluding players from engaging in any conduct that is 'detrimental to the integrity of, or public confidence in, the game of professional football.'"

Other players have been disciplined based on specific Player Policies, such as the specific domestic violence policy.

2. Brady was not allowed to examine a lead investigator.

"Denied the opportunity to examine [Jeff] Pash at the arbitral hearing, Brady was prejudiced. He was foreclosed from exploring, among other things, whether the Pash Wells Investigation was truly 'independent,' and how and why the NFL’ s General Counsel came to edit a supposedly independent investigation report."

3. Brady was denied access to an investigator's files.

"The Court finds that Commissioner Goodell’s denial of the Players Association’s motion to produce the Paul, Weiss investigative files, including notes of witness interviews, for Brady’s use at the arbitral hearing was fundamentally unfair . . .and that Brady was prejudiced as a result."

"Compounding Brady’s prejudice is the fact that, as noted, Paul, Weiss acted as both alleged 'independent' counsel during the Investigation and also (perhaps inconsistently) as retained counsel to the NFL during the arbitration."