Reggie Langhorne, who retired from the N.F.L. more than 20 years ago, was on the golf course Thursday afternoon when he learned that he was making news in the league again.
In overturning the N.F.L.’s four-game suspension of quarterback Tom Brady, Judge Richard M. Berman of Federal District Court in Manhattan cited as precedent the case of Langhorne, a receiver for the Cleveland Browns in 1991 who refused to accept an assignment to the team’s practice squad. The Browns fined him $15,000 and kept him off the roster for the team’s next game, costing Langhorne an additional $30,000 game check.