Associated Press

NEW YORK — Quarterback Tom Brady’s last best chance to avoid serving a four-game “Deflategate” suspension to start the new season was flatly rejected Wednesday by an appeals court.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a one-sentence rejection of requests by the National Football League Players Association and Tom Brady to reconsider an April decision that reinstated the suspension.

“We are disappointed,” the players association said in a statement. “The track record of this league office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed.”

It added that it will review its options carefully.

The NFL declined comment.

The court’s action left intact a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel that found NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acted within his powers by upholding the suspension of the star quarterback for his role in a scheme to doctor footballs used in a January 2015 playoff game.