NFLPA to appeal NFL's 'outrageous decision' on behalf of Tom Brady

Tom Brady and the NFLPA have wasted little time in responding to the NFL's decision Tuesday to uphold the New England Patriots quarterback's four-game suspension.

After Brady quickly gave his authorization for the union to file an appeal on his behalf, as first reported by Jim Trotter of ESPN, the NFLPA issued a strong statement of its intentions on his behalf.

The union's release claims that commissioner Roger Goodell did "nothing to address the legal deficiencies of due process," outlining five criteria upon which it appears set to base its case against the NFL:

• The NFL had no policy that applied to players;
• The NFL provided no notice of any such policy or potential discipline to players;
• The NFL resorted to a nebulous standard of "general awareness" to predicate a legally unjustified punishment;
• The NFL had no procedures in place until two days ago to test air pressure in footballs; and
• The NFL violated the plain meaning of the collective bargaining agreement.

The union then took aim at the NFL's basis for claiming that Brady attempted to hide electronic information during the investigation process, before concluding the statement in staunch defense of the future Hall-of-Famer and confirming that the case is indeed headed for litigation.

The fact that the NFL would resort to basing a suspension on a smoke screen of irrelevant text messages instead of admitting that they have all of the phone records they asked for is a new low, even for them, but it does nothing to correct their errors.

The NFLPA will appeal this outrageous decision on behalf of Tom Brady.

NFL Network's Albert Breer reported earlier Tuesday that, upon receiving clearance, the NFLPA was planning to file the lawsuit in Minnesota. The case could thus potentially be heard by Judge David Doty, who has several times ruled in favor of players and against the NFL.

Taking the league to court was an expected move following Tuesday's appeal decision, as the union was set on contesting any punishment that would force Brady to miss regular-season games.

Both sides were reportedly in settlement talks Monday, but it remains unclear how close they were to reaching a compromise. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is reporting the league offered Brady at least a 50 percent reduction of his suspension if the quarterback admitted guilt, but George Atallah of the NFLPA is strongly denying a settlement was ever close to being reached.

The upcoming litigation proceedings have the potential to become quite lengthy. Should the case extend into the regular season, Brady and his representation have the option of pursuing an injunction that would allow him to get back on the field until the process is complete.

As a result, a final decision on whether Brady will indeed be forced to sit out regular-season games likely won't be made anytime soon.