The Sports Xchange

Tom Brady was cleared to return to the field with the New England Patriots, but courtroom football will continue.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday in a statement responding to the federal ruling dismissing Brady’s four-game suspension the NFL plans to pursue an appeal.

“We are grateful to Judge (Richard M.) Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today’s decision,” Goodell said. “We will appeal today’s ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner’s responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end. While the legal phase of this process continues, we look forward to focusing on football and the opening of the regular season.”

The maximum allowable fine for equipment violations under terms of the collective bargaining agreement is $25,000. Berman said the failure to notify players of punishment on par with violations of the NFL’s anabolic steroid policy was unfair.

“The decision should prove that our CBS does not grant our commissioner the authority to be unfair,” NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith in a statement.

Litigious action is familiar to the NFL, which had previous high-profile decisions from Goodell overturned at various appeals levels, including the suspensions of running backs Ray Rice (domestic violence) and Adrian Peterson (child abuse) and ruling against multiple New Orleans Saints players accused in the bounty scandal.