NFL asks court to dismiss Elliott suit in bid to restore six-game ban

FRISCO, Texas — The NFL has asked a federal appeals court to dismiss Ezekiel Elliott’s entire lawsuit in its bid to lift an injunction that blocked the star Dallas Cowboys running back’s six-game suspension over a domestic violence case in Ohio.

The league wrote in a filing Wednesday to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans that the players’ union case filed on behalf of Elliott had resulted in “hopelessly doomed proceedings.”

The three-judge panel requested arguments from both sides over U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant’s jurisdiction.

The Texas judge granted Elliott’s request for an injunction while the case plays out in federal court. The NFL asked the appeals court for an emergency stay of Mazzant’s ruling, and oral arguments are set for Monday.

The 22-year-old Elliott was suspended by Commissioner Roger Goodell in August after the league concluded following a yearlong investigation that he had several physical confrontations last summer with his girlfriend at the time. Prosecutors in Ohio didn’t pursue the case, citing conflicting evidence.

NFL attorneys cited a 2014 education case in Louisiana in which the 5th Circuit vacated an injunction and ordered the district court to dismiss all other claims.

“This Court has followed the same course many other times, correctly recognizing that there is no reason to prolong hopelessly doomed proceedings, and that cases in which federal courts cannot grant relief should be promptly dismissed,” NFL attorneys wrote.