Familiar arbitrator to hear Elliott appeal
Henderson upheld Peterson’s penalty, reduced Hardy’s
Commissioner Roger Goodell tapped former league executive Harold Henderson to hear Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s six- game appeal, the NFL announced Wednesday.
Goodell, under terms of the personal conduct policy that Elliott was found to have violated because of domestic violence accusations, had the authority to hear the appeal, scheduled for Aug. 29. Instead, it will be up to Henderson’s decision to uphold, reduce or vacate the suspension, which was announced Friday.
“It’s the safest way out for Goodell,” sports business attorney Daniel Wallach told USA TODAY Sports. “Otherwise, this could quickly devolve into another Deflategate.”
Henderson has served as an appeals officer since 2008. He had served as an NFL executive vice president for labor relations and executive vice president for player development.
In years past, Henderson heard the appeals of running back Adrian Peterson and defensive end Greg Hardy.
Henderson upheld Peterson’s indefinite ban over child abuse accusations, which ultimately was overturned in the courts.
He reduced Hardy’s ban after his domestic violence arrest from 10 games to four.
In other developments Wednesday, the NFL called out the NFL Players Association after saying it had received reports of the union “spreading derogatory information” to media outlets about the woman whose claims led to Elliott’s sixgame suspension.
“It’s a common tactic to attempt to prove the innocence of the accused by discrediting the victim,” the NFL said in a statement. “Common or not, these tactics are shameful. Efforts to shame and blame victims are often what prevent people from coming forward to report violence and/ or seek help in the first place.”
The NFLPA responded by saying it had not engaged in such tactics.
“The public statement issued on behalf of every NFL owner is a lie,” the NFLPA’s statement read. “The NFLPA categorically denies the accusations made in this statement. We know the League office has a history of being ex- posed for its lack of credibility. This is another example of the NFL’s hypocrisy on display and an attempt to create a sideshow to distract from their own failings in dealing with such serious issues. They should be ashamed for stooping to new lows.”
The statement appeared on the NFLPA’s official Twitter account in a message that appeared to ask the NFL to prove the union had leaked the information. The tweet was later deleted.
Yahoo Sports reported that a text exchange between the alleged victim and friend was cited in “a portion of the NFL Players Association’s response to the NFL regarding Elliott’s suspension.”
USA TODAY Sports does not identify alleged victims of domestic violence.
The NFL cited a July 2016 incident between the alleged victim and Elliott as the main factor in issuing the six- game ban, the baseline punishment under its domestic violence policy. Elliott was not arrested when the alleged altercation took place in Columbus, Ohio, and prosecutors chose not to file charges.
The NFL, however, said in a statement that “substantial and persuasive evidence” supported the suspension after a 13- month investigation by the league.