Ezekiel Elliott could begin 6-game suspension after appellate court sides with NFL

This is far from over.

The latest motion in Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL Players Association’s legal battle with the NFL has been decided. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans sided with the NFL and granted a stay for the injunction that was delaying Elliott’s six-game suspension, according to the Associated Press.

The court sided with the NFL in a split decision because it determined that the district court that issued the stay did not have subject matter jurisdiction, according to Gabe Feldman, the director of Tulane University’s sports law program. The appellate court also ordered the district court to dismiss the case filed by Elliott’s representatives, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said.

Elliott could begin to serve the suspension, which was handed down after a year-long investigation into domestic violence allegations made against Elliott in July 2016, after the Cowboys’ Week 6 bye.

Goodell issued the six-game suspension, the baseline for a first-time domestic violence offender under the personal conduct policy, at the conclusion of the league’s investigation into the allegations levied against Elliott.

Elliott was asked about the pending motion after the Cowboys’ loss to the Packers on Sunday. He declined to comment.

What’s happened so far?

After NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the six-game suspension in August, Elliott’s camp appealed to the league. The appeal was centered around concerns about the credibility of Elliott’s accuser. Goodell appointed an arbitrator, Harold Henderson, to hear the appeal. Before Henderson reached a decision — but after he heard the appeal — the NFLPA, expecting the worst, filed a lawsuit against the league in a federal court in Texas.

The NFLPA was right to expect an unfavorable outcome. Henderson upheld Elliott’s suspension, and Elliott’s representatives petitioned Judge Amos Mazzant in the Eastern District Court of Texas for an emergency injunction that would lift Elliott’s suspension until a decision was reached on the court case. Mazzant ruled in favor of the NFLPA, saying in his decision that the NFL did not give Elliott a “fundamentally fair hearing.” That allowed Elliott to continue playing.

The league has been unwilling to live with that decision. The NFL appealed to Mazzant with an emergency motion for a stay of the injunction. Mazzant is the one who issued the decision on the injunction, and it would be unusual for a judge to overturn his own ruling. So the league also took its motion to the 5th Circuit appellate court as a backup plan, claiming Mazzant lacked jurisdiction.

Mazzant did, in fact, deny the league’s emergency motion. A hearing was held on Monday, Oct. 2 in New Orleans before a three-judge panel, which granted the league’s motion.

As of last Friday, there had been no settlement discussions between the NFL and Elliott’s representatives, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

What does this mean for Elliott?

He may have to serve his suspension, effective immediately. The NFLPA is expected to file a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to sports and gaming attorney Daniel Wallach.

It will likely raise questions about the league’s standard of credible evidence and whether the commissioner applied it fairly when evaluating Elliott’s case.

That’s the question both the NFLPA and the NFL are seeking to have answered through the federal courts. It’s not a question of what Elliott did or did not do. It’s a labor law issue surrounding Goodell’s power over player discipline and whether or not he is wielding it in a way that is consistent with the personal conduct policy and the current collective bargaining agreement.

What does this mean for the NFL?

It’s a big win for Goodell and the league. The initial decision from Mazzant challenged Goodell’s authority, and the outcome of this case could have a sweeping impact on player discipline in the future.

What happens next?

More appeals, more bickering, and probably several months of this back and forth in federal court between the NFL and the NFLPA, on Elliott’s behalf.