Elliott’s battle over ban begins

On Tuesday, Ezekiel Elliott will begin his fight to appeal the six-game suspension he was handed by the NFL over allegations of domestic violence.

Though an uphill battle, Elliot apparently will have one of the nation’s most skilled attorneys on his side. Jeffrey Kessler, who represented Tom Brady in the Deflategate saga, will play “a significant part” in Elliot’s camp, according to Yahoo Sports. Kessler initially succeeded in having Brady’s four-game suspension, which was reinstated in 2016, overturned.

Despite Elliot’s plea for an independent arbiter, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell selected Harold Henderson, a former league executive, to hear the case.

Becker and Poliakoff sports attorney Daniel Wallach shed light on the biggest obstacle facing Elliot and his powerful legal team: The NFL arbitration process is not like a typical courtroom appeal.

The NFL’s procedure does not include many of the niceties afforded by courtroom evidence rules such as upholding Sixth and Seventh Amendment rights, including the right of the accused to confront his accuser.

This is because the NFL does not have the authority to compel any outside witness to appear for testimony, nor does it have to provide equal access to all of the evidence.

Henderson already has denied Elliot’s requests to have Tiffany Thompson, his accuser, take part in cross-examination and to make the material from six Thompson interviews with investigators available in the hearing.

“In some ways, Elliott attorneys are basically going to be trying this case with one hand tied behind their back,” Wallach said. “In most courtroom trials, you want to create a level playing field, in that both sides have equal access to the evidence, but in the NFL, there is no such thing.”