NFL: Judge denies injunction to block Elliott suspension
A federal judge cleared the way Monday night for the NFL to enforce a six-game suspension of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott over domestic violence allegations.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied the request for a preliminary injunction from players’ union attorneys working for Elliott. Failla put the ruling on hold for 24 hours to give Elliott’s legal team time to appeal, a likely move.
It’s the second time a federal ruling has overturned a reprieve that kept Elliott on the field. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court threw out a Texas court’s injunction and ordered the dismissal of Elliott’s lawsuit there.
The NFL briefly enforced commissioner Roger Goodell’s suspension before a judge sitting in for Failla in the Southern District of New York issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the punishment for the second time.
If the suspension holds this time, Elliott will be out starting Sunday at home against Kansas City. He will be eligible to return Dec. 17 at Oakland.
Elliott attended the roughly twohour hearing in New York on Monday, a day after rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 33-19 win at Washington. He left court without speaking to reporters.
The 22-year-old Elliott was suspended in August 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 denied the allegations under oath during his NFL appeal.
49ERS LAND GAROPPOLO: The San Francisco 49ers agreed to send a second-round draft choice to the New England Patriots on Monday for backup quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo played well last season while Tom Brady was serving his four-game Deflategate suspension, and the Patriots held on to him in the off-season despite interest from several teams. But they parted with him on the eve of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
The 49ers, winless in eight games this season, landed a potential franchise quarterback for their new regime of head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.
SEAHAWKS BOLSTER LINE: The Seattle Seahawks solidified a big area of concern by reaching agreement to acquire veteran left tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans on Monday for cornerback Jeremy Lane and two draft picks.
Brown made his season debut for the Texans on Sunday against the Seahawks after a lengthy holdout in search of a new contract.
SURGERY SAVES LEG: Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller had surgery to save his left leg after he tore an artery while dislocating his knee during Sunday’s loss at New Orleans.
The team said the “urgent” operation Sunday to repair a torn popliteal artery was successful. Miller remains at University Medical Center New Orleans, with team medical personnel and his wife and father by his side, after suffering a career-threatening injury.