Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott drops the appeal of his suspension.
FRISCO — Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is ending his legal fight with five games remaining on a six-game suspension over alleged domestic violence.
Elliott’s agents said Wednesday the decision by last year’s NFL rushing leader “is in no way an admission of wrongdoing.” Elliott hada hearing set in a federal appeals court Dec. 1, four games into the suspension.
Wednesday was the 96th day since NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the suspension. Elliott served the first game in Dallas’ 27-7 loss to Atlanta last weekend. By accepting the six-game ban, Elliott is eligible to return for the final two games of the regular season — Dec. 24 at home against Seattle and Dec. 31 at Philadelphia.
The defending NF C East champion Cowboys (5-4) are three games behind the division-leading Eagles (81), who visit Sunday night. A year after being the top seed in the NFC at 13-3, Dallas faces a difficult task staying in playoff contention until Elliott returns.
Elliott, 22, was suspended by Goodell in August when the league concluded after a year-long investigation that he had several physical confrontations in the summer of 2016 with Tiffany Thompson, his girlfriend at the time. Prosecutors in Ohio did not pursue the case. Elliott denied the allegations under oath during his NFL appeal.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to an expedited hearing for Elliott’s arguments that he was not treated fairly by the league but last week turned down his request for an injunction while the case was being heard.
“This decision is in no way an admission of any wrongdoing, and Mr. Elliott is pleased that the legal fight … resulted in disclosing many hidden truths regarding this matter, as well as publicly exposing the NFL’s mismanagement of its disciplinary process,” agents Rocky Arceneaux and Frank Salzano said.
A Texas judge granted an injunction that kept Elliott eligible early in the season, agreeing with NFL Players Association lawyers who argued that investigators withheld key evidence from Goodell, andthat the appeal hearing was unfair.
The NFL contended all along that the league followed federal law as it relates to labor agreements and the commissioner’s power to discipline players.
A federal appeals court in New Orleans tossed Elliott’s lawsuit in Texas on the grounds that it was filed prematurely. The case moved to New York because the NFL had already filed there.
After a visiting federal judge granted a temporary restraining order that kept Elliott on the field two more weeks, the judge assigned to the case rejected all of Elliott’s arguments in denying his request for an injunction.
An emergency stay made him eligible for one game before the latest ruling denying an injunction.