By Steve Ginsburg
(Reuters) - 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 on Thursday transferred the case from Minnesota.
The National Football League players union filed the petition in the midwestern 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 U.S. District Judge David Doty has a history of ruling in favor of players in labor cases against the NFL. The case will be heard instead by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan.
Brady hopes to overturn the suspension the NFL meted 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.
National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell had upheld the penalty he levied on Brady in May.
In deciding to move the case to New York, U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle of Minnesota wrote there was little reason for the case to be heard in Minnesota.
"Brady plays for a team in Massachusetts; the Union is headquartered in Washington, D.C.; the NFL is headquartered in New York; the arbitration proceedings took place in New York; and the award was issued in New York."
Neither the NFL nor the union would comment on the decision.