Elliott 6-Game Suspension Upheld
UPDATE: Ezekiel Elliott will now be forced to miss six games of the Cowboys season.
The suspension was upheld by arbitrator Harold Henderson.
Elliott will still get to play this Sunday versus the New York Giants.
According to Mike Fisher, the judge will decide if he will grant a temporary restraining order in the case by 5:00 p.m. on Friday.
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - According to Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan, NFL representatives told the federal judge in Ezekiel Elliot's case that the running back is playing Sunday against the New York Giants.
Citing a source inside the Sherman federal courtroom, Judge Mazzant asked the NFL's attorneys if Elliott would be playing regardless of arbitrator Harold Henderson's ruling on his six-game ban, and their answer was yes.
Elliott is seeking to block the NFL from suspending him, while Henderson has yet to make a ruling on his suspension.
Henderson told both sides (NFL Players Association and the NFL) that he would rule on Elliott's appeal by the close of business today, according to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, however, Pelissero later tweeted that the decision could be delayed due to the "volume of material."
It was originally thought that a decision would be made today because the NFL has a Tuesday deadline to announce a player's suspension for that week, or so many thought they did.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL has observed a weekly deadline when it comes to the implementation of suspensions. If the appeal isn't decided on by Tuesday then the suspension gets delayed by a week.
A source close to Florio says the practice arose over concerns of fairness and competitive balance. Which is basically saying that teams need to plan accordingly for who's playing and who they are playing against.
Many reporters, the Cowboys and Elliott's representatives apparently weren't aware of anything different until NFL employees said there was no deadline regarding whether a player can play or not.
Earlier Tuesday, Pelissero and Ian Rapoport said Tuesday's deadline relates to whether the player gets paid or not and has nothing to do with their eligibility.
But, now, the NFL has seemingly reversed course and decided that sitting Elliott wouldn't be fair to the Cowboys or Giants.
Elliott's lawsuit accuses the NFL's appeal process of being "fundamentally unfair" because Henderson denied a request to have his ex-girlfriend testify at a hearing that wrapped up Thursday.
The suit also claims that NFL executives hid information that was favorable to Elliott before Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed the punishment Aug. 11.
The lawsuit also accuses NFL special counsel Lisa Friel of withholding from Goodell the word of co-lead investigator Kia Roberts, who the suit says concluded that the accuser wasn't credible and that discipline wasn't warranted.
"The withholding of this critical information from the disciplinary process was a momentous denial of the fundamental fairness required in every arbitration and, of course, does not satisfy federal labor law's minimal due process requirements," the lawsuit said.
Late Monday, the NFL asked a federal court to toss the request from Elliott's legal team for a temporary restraining order.
This is a developing news story. Refresh for the latest details.
