HEADLINES

Ezekiel Elliott’s Suspension Upheld

September 5th, 2017 at 7:22pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Arbitrator Harold Henderson has upheld Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game suspension, per Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link).Ezekiel Elliott (Vertical)

Elliott will still play in Week 1 against the Giants, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, as the NFL typically doesn’t implement suspensions when a decision is made after 4pm ET on a Tuesday. Instead, Elliott will begin his suspension in Week 2, and will subsequently miss games against the Broncos, Cardinals, Rams, Packers, 49ers, and Redskins.

Of course, the battle may not yet be concluded even after a yearlong investigation into domestic violence allegations against Elliott, a suspension, and a unsuccessful appeal. Elliott has vowed to take his case to court, and a judge is expected to rule on a restraining order against the NFL by 5pm ET on Friday, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. If that order is accepted, Elliott will likely be available to play out the entire season, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link).

Elliott, the fourth overall selection in the 2016 draft, has accused the NFL of a conspiracy against him, and the dispute has gotten ugly from all angles. Elliott and his camp have cast doubt on the consistency of his accuser’s claims and suggested her motives were profit-based, while the NFL has accused Elliott of victim-shaming. Nevertheless, Elliott plans to fight his ban to the “complete exhaustion of his legal options,” a source tells Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

On the field, Elliott is one of the league’s more dynamic talents, as he lead the NFL in rushing yards while scoring 15 times a year ago. Without him, the Cowboys will turn to a trio of Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris, and Rod Smith to run behind arguably the league’s best offensive lines.

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