Cowboys RB Elliott loses his appeal
Won’t play Sunday; next hearing in case is set for Dec. 1
NEW YORK — Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott’s half-season run from his six-game suspension ended Thursday when a federal appeals court refused to let him play while it considers his appeal.
A bespectacled Elliott in a suit and tie sat directly in front of a three-judge panel that considered a request from the NFL Players Association that he be allowed to play. But the court issued an order in less than an hour disqualifying him from Sunday’s game at Atlanta. It appears he’ll miss all of November’s games since the court set a Dec. 1 hearing for oral arguments on the merits of the union’s appeal.
The suspension was ordered in August as discipline after the league investigated allegations he used force against his girlfriend in the summer of 2016. Elliott vehemently denied the allegations as recently as last week, sayinghe was not an abuser.
Afederal appeals court last month tossed out his court challenge in Texas, but the league’s request for a New York court to affirm that it had acted properly led a Manhattan judge to rule last monththat Elliott must begin his suspension. After the union appealed, the lowercourt decision was temporarily stayed, allowing Elliott to playlast Sunday.
By Thursday’s ruling, Elliott had already left the courthouse without speaking to reporters, though he shook the hand of a person who shouted that he was a “huge fan” as Elliott raced down steps to a sport utility vehicle.
Although the league won the battle, the appeals judges took a few shots at the NFL for its handling of the suspension of a 22-year-old athlete who will be sidelined while he’ssecond in the league with 783 yards rushing and tied for the league lead with seven rushingtouchdowns.
Circuit Judge Dennis Jacobs told Paul Clement, the NFL’s lawyer, that he found it odd that the issue was “such a frantic emergency that it can’t wait another couple months.”
“This is not just about Elliott and the Cowboys,” Clement responded, noting that 100 players across the league had been suspended for a total of 500 games over the past two seasons.
“Unfortunately, discipline is a fact of life in the NFL,” the lawyer said. “They all have an interest in seeing the same basic rules applied to them.”
Clement said it was important that players not be able to “game the system” by using the courts to delay suspensions until it is convenientfor them or their teams.