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Patriots Fans Sue NFL Over Team's "Deflategate" Punishment

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The lawsuit's allegations range from common law fraud and negligence to racketeering.

It's been almost a year and a half since the "Deflategate" scandal emerged as a national sports storyline. And while punishments have been handed down, appealed, and seemingly resolved, a group of New England Patriots fans say the story isn't over yet.

The group of seven fans have sued the NFL in an effort to recover the first-round draft pick that was taken from the team as punishment for "Deflategate."

The suit filed Tuesday in federal court in Boston says the NFL made an "arbitrary and capricious" decision to revoke the draft pick even though there is no proof that the team deliberately deflated footballs.

The complaint says the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell relied on "false premises and biased 'investigations' and untrue 'facts,'" to reach their decision to take away the team's first-round draft pick in this month's draft.

The fans' complaint, which sports website Deadspin uploaded in its entirety, alleges common law fraud, negligence, intentional inflection of emotional distress, and racketeering.

"Deflategate" was sparked in January 2015 when the Patriots were accused of tampering with footballs used in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots defeated the Colts in that game, and went on to win Super Bowl XLIX.

The scandal continued to build throughout the spring, summer, and early fall, with topics of discussion including the Patriots' reputation for sometimes shady gamesmanship and whether or not the league's stiff punishment was fair.

In addition to the lost draft picks and a $1 million fine, Goodell suspended Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the 2015-16 season, a penalty that was later nullified by a United States federal judge after Brady appealed the league's decision in court.

The team and the league did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

This report includes information from The Associated Press.

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