DECISION

Ezekiel Elliott will be in New York on Tuesday for the appeal of his six-game domestic violence suspension in what will likely be the first of multiple steps to keep him eligible for the Cowboys season opener against the Giants in Dallas in two weeks.

Will he be running the ball the night of Sept. 10? “This is completely unpredictable,” one source close to the action told the Daily News.

Elliott’s hearing, scheduled to last into Wednesday, is expected to take place at the NFL’s Park Avenue headquarters, perhaps even in the Tom Brady Conference Room in the basement where Roger Goodell conducted the marathon 10-hour Deflategate hearing in 2014.

Goodell will not be there this time. He’s handed off the job of appeals officer to Harold Henderson, the former executive director of the NFL Management Council. Really, talk about having the deck stacked. How could the NFLPA sign off once again in the 2011 CBA on a system where Goodell makes the ruling and if he doesn’t hear the appeal himself, it goes to a former high level NFL employee?

Henderson made one key ruling in advance of the hearing. The NFLPA requested that Elliott’s accuser Tiffany Thompson be present for questioning and the NFL denied the request. The union appealed to Henderson, and in a shocking development, he sided with the NFL.

“They refuse to produce her,” one Elliott said source. “In a “he said, she said,” it would be nice know what she said. The player will be under oath, but the accuser won’t walk through the door. It’s indicative of what this is all about.”

The authorities in Columbus did not charge Elliott. Goodell uses different standards in the personal conduct policy. Henderson’s decision is expected Friday. The suspension remains on hold until Henderson rules. What has to happen for Elliott to be in uniform against the Giants?

l Henderson has to wipe out the suspension entirely. “The union is trying to get the whole discipline eliminated,” the source said. “It’s based on the facts and procedures.” The Jets have a better chance to win the Super Bowl this year than Elliott has to get the slate wiped clean. The most he can hope for is Henderson reducing the suspension to four games on a conditional basis if Elliott follows the guidelines set forth by the NFL to get a clinical evaluation and, if recommended, go for treatment or counseling.

l If Henderson’s ruling is not to Elliott’s liking, which means he doesn’t completely eliminate it, he’s expected to immediately file for a temporary restraining order, which is granted in emergency cases if the plaintiff shows he will face irreparable harm if and that he can prove he has a likely chance to win in court. The TRO, if granted, lasts 10 days. The NFL can immediately appeal. It the TRO remains intact, it can be later be extended 10 days while a preliminary injunction is sought. If Elliott gets the preliminary injunction, there is a stay on the suspension until there is a ruling in the case.

l If Elliott wins the initial rounds in court, he can play until his case is heard and adjudicated. That could take a couple of weeks or it could take months.

What has to happen for Elliott’s suspension to miss the Giants game?

l Henderson’s ruling involves some form ballot.

I have one of the 48 votes, but I’m not on either the senior committee or the contributor committee. Each has nine members. They reduce the lists of candidates in preliminary voting and then five members of each committee meet in Canton to vote.

Beathard built two Super Bowl winners in Washington, one Chargers team that went to the Super Bowl but lost 49-26 to the 49ers and deserved to make the HOF. Just not ahead of Young.

I think the HOF is well run by the folks in Canton, but it’s such a bad look that they used Charley Casserly and John Madden as consultants last week to the contributors committee. Casserly worked for Beathard in Washington and eventually succeeded him and won a Super Bowl. Madden was Beathard’s roommate and teammate at Cal Poly.

There is a perception problem that the fix was in for Beathard. He was already among the favorites going into the meeting Friday and to have two of his friends as consultants providing input on the 10 finalists is just wrong. Casserly and Madden gave their opinion on each — Casserly was in the meeting room and Madden was on the phone — and were not consulted again and did not have a vote. Casserly and Madden are football lifers and men of integrity, but there’s a lot of other people the HOF could have picked to help out this year. Young is among the three or four most important people in Giants history. He’s also such a big part of NFL history that this category could have been named for him.