Elliott mum amid more legal limbo
FRISCO, TEXAS » Ezekiel Elliott skipped his weekly media session Wednesday because of more legal limbo in the star Dallas Cowboys running back’s fight over the NFL’s six-game suspension on alleged domestic violence.
The difference this week is that Elliott, the NFL’s second-leading rusher, was with his teammates. That wasn’t the case early last week when the 22-year-old was suspended until Friday after a judge rejected his request for a second injunction.
The third legal reprieve came in an emergency stay two days before the Cowboys beat the Chiefs. Now Elliott seeks a longer-lasting injunction from a three-judge panel that will hear his case Thursday in New York.
A ruling could come before Sunday, when Dallas (53), on a three-game winning streak with significant contributions from Elliott, visits defending NFC champion Atlanta (4-4).
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on his radio show Wednesday he believed Elliott was planning to attend the hearing. If so, it will be with the blessing of coach Jason Garrett.
Elliott attended the hearing in New York last week after which U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla rejected all the arguments of his legal team in reinstating the suspension levied by Commissioner Roger Goodell in August.
The suspension followed the NFL’s yearlong investigation after prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio, cited conflicting evidence when declining to pursue the case in the city where Elliott starred for Ohio State. The allegations stemmed from incidents in the summer of 2016.
“Again, we’re going to focus on what we can control in that situation,” Garrett said earlier this week. “Zeke has done a really good job of that. Until someone tells us otherwise, we’ll proceed accordingly.”
Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing as a rookie last season, has been suspended briefly twice as the case has taken twists and turns in courtrooms from Texas to Louisiana to New York.