Two people familiar with the situation tell The Associated Press that Tom Brady’s appeal of his four-game suspension for his role in the deflated footballs scandal won’t be heard by Wednesday’s 10-day deadline.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because no date for the appeal has been set.

The collective bargaining agreement calls for it to be heard within 10 days.

However, the league and the players’ union can agree on delaying the hearing.

The two sides don’t agree on much else.

The union asked Commissioner Roger Goodell to recuse himself from hearing the appeal because it said he lacked impartiality and he would be called as a witness.

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Goodell will not withdraw from what he considers his responsibility of hearing the appeal, according to several people with knowledge of the decision.

Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, handed down the suspension to three-time Super Bowl MVP Brady, one of the sport’s biggest stars.

Vincent also fined the Patriots $1 million and stripped them of a first-round draft pick next year and a fourth-rounder in 2017.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last week he will not appeal the team’s penalties.

BEARS: Chicago released defensive end Ray McDonald following a domestic violence arrest in Northern California that police said stemmed from an assault on a woman who was holding a baby.

McDonald was taken into custody at 7 a.m. Monday on suspicion of domestic violence and child endangerment, Santa Clara police Lt. Kurt Clarke said.

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Police said the assault happened at his home in Santa Clara.

He was found about three hours later at a home in San Jose and arrested.

Police did not disclose if the woman or the baby were injured.

The Chicago Bears later released a statement about the decision to let McDonald go.

“We believe in second chances, but when we signed Ray we were very clear what our expectations were if he was to remain a Bear,” General Manager Ryan Pace said in the statement.

“He was not able to meet the standard, and the decision was made to release him.”

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Bears guard Kyle Long quickly reacted to the move by tweeting “Good riddance.”

Chicago signed McDonald to a one-year contract in late March knowing it was a gamble given his history of legal issues.

McDonald, 30, was available to the Bears as a free agent in March because the 49ers released him Dec. 17 after his second arrest, with General Manager Trent Baalke citing a “pattern of poor decision making.”

Bears’ Chairman George McCaskey even acknowledged at the time that he initially told Pace not to go after him.

But McCaskey came away impressed from a face-to-face conversation that he described as “very candid, very forthright” and “difficult” after McDonald paid his way to Chicago.

New Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had vouched for McDonald’s character when the Bears debated signing him. Fangio was McDonald’s defensive coordinator for the past four seasons with the 49ers and felt comfortable with McDonald based on a relationship built on daily interactions.


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