NFL: Court clears way for Elliott’s suspension to begin
FRISCO, TEXAS— A federal appeals court cleared the way for the NFL to impose a six-game suspension on Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott over domestic violence allegations on Thursday, siding with the league in the latest high-profile fight over its ability to punish players for off-field behaviour.
In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans granted the league’s emergency request to set aside an injunction and ordered a district court in Texas to dismiss Elliott’s case.
Further appeals were possible. One of Elliott’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
A federal judge in Texas issued the injunction blocking the suspension last month, agreeing with NFL players’ union attorneys who argued that the investigation of the allegations in Ohio and a subsequent appeal were unfair to Elliott, one of the league’s standout running backs.
The NFL countered that it followed procedures under the league’s labour deal and that the union improperly filed a lawsuit before the appeals process was complete.
The most likely destination for further legal challenges from players’ union attorneys representing Elliott is with the Southern District of New York. The NFL filed in that federal court after Elliott’s NFL appeal was denied by arbitrator Harold Henderson last month.
If Elliott’s legal team can’t put the suspension on hold again, it can begin Oct. 22 at San Francisco and Elliott won’t be eligible to play until Nov. 30 at home against Washington, a Thursday night game the week after Thanksgiving. Elliott played the first five games. The Cowboys are not playing this weekend.
Last year’s NFL rushing leader as a rookie, Elliott was suspended in August by commissioner Roger Goodell after the league concluded following a yearlong investigation that he had several physical confrontations in the summer of 2016 with Tiffany Thompson, his girlfriend at the time.
Prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio, decided not to pursue the case in the city where Elliott starred for Ohio State, citing conflicting evidence.
Elliott’s legal team filed the lawsuit on his behalf in the Eastern District of Texas before Henderson had rejected the appeal.
The 5th Circuit agreed with the NFL’s claim that the filing was premature.
“The procedures provided for in the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and NFLPA were not exhausted,” Judges Jennifer Elrod and Edward Prado wrote for the majority.
“The parties contracted to have an arbitrator make a final decision. That decision had not yet been issued.”