AFL-CIO joins Brady’s Deflategate appeal

7:44 PM ET

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady has added more high-profile legal power to fight his Deflategate suspension.

The AFL-CIO filed a friend of the court brief on Monday asking the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a decision handed down by a three-judge panel in April. Also weighing in: Kenneth Feinberg, who helped divvy up the funds for Sept. 11 and Boston Marathon bombing victims.

In its amicus brief, the labor federation said the three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit that reinstated Brady’s four-game suspension erred in granting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell the “highly deferential” status afforded a neutral arbitrator.

Instead, the AFL-CIO argued that Goodell “failed to follow basic procedural fairness” when he originally suspended Brady for his role in a scheme to use improperly inflated footballs in the 2015 AFC Championship game.

“Even a cursory review of the commissioner’s decision makes clear that he acted in the self-serving role of an employer justifying his own disciplinary decision rather than as a neutral arbitrator considering an appeal,” the AFL-CIO wrote.

Feinberg cited his three decades of experience as an arbitrator and special master and said “the high-profile nature of this case … has serious potential to affect public confidence” in the arbitration process. “Mr. Feinberg …

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