NFLPA, NFL FILE ARGUMENTS IN ELLIOTT SUSPENSION CASE

The NFL is trying to accelerate the timeline in its appeal of a federal judge’s injunction that blocked Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension over a domestic violence case. The NFL quickly answered a filing from Elliott’s attorneys Wednesday, telling U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant that the league would immediately go to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans if he didn’t rule on its request for a stay of his injunction by Thursday. The legal maneuverings are unlikely to keep last year’s NFL rushing leader from playing Sunday at the Denver Broncos. The NFL Players Association had argued against a stay in its ninepage filing Wednesday, with union attorney Thomas Mel

sheimer writing, “The NFL faces no threat of irreparable harm if the stay is not granted, while others, including both Elliott and the Cowboys, will suffer substantial — in fact, severe and irreparable – harm.” Without a stay, Elliott’s suspension would remain on hold as the appeals court renders its decision.