Thursday 30 July 2015 17:37, UK
A New York federal judge will hear American football star Tom Brady's appeal of his NFL four-game suspension over the "Deflategate" scandal, after a judge transferred the case from Minnesota.
The National Football League players union filed the petition in the mid-western state on Wednesday on behalf of Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback and four-time Super Bowl champion.
The union wanted the case to be heard in Minnesota, where US District Judge David Doty has a history of ruling in favour of players in labour cases against the NFL. The case will be heard instead by US District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan.
Brady hopes to overturn the suspension the NFL handed out for his alleged role in deflating footballs below league standards during the game that put the Patriots in the 2015 Super Bowl. A ball inflated below NFL standards could make it easier to grip, especially in cold weather.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had upheld the penalty he levied on Brady in May.
In deciding to move the case to New York, US District Judge Richard Kyle of Minnesota wrote there was little reason for the case to be heard in Minnesota.
Kyle said: "Brady plays for a team in Massachusetts, the Union is headquartered in Washington DC. the NFL is headquartered in New York, the arbitration proceedings took place in New York and the award was issued in New York."
