NFL Suspension Of Ezekiel Elliott Upheld In Court
The NFL suspension against Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was once again upheld in court today. Meaning his 6-game suspension will start right away. He will miss his first game this weekend.
The NFL originally suspended Elliott in the off-season after multiple stories about Elliott's behavior became national headlines. Including an incident when he removed a woman's top in public at a St. Patrick's Day parade. But the main incident occurred in February of 2016 (prior to Elliott being drafted), when a woman called the police to report that Elliott pushed her against a wall and injured her shoulder during a dispute.
In July of that same year, Elliott's accuser reported 5 more instances of violence between her and Elliott. But in September of 2016, the Columbus, OH prosecutor's office announced they would not be filing charges against Elliott.
But the NFL has a "Personal Conduct Policy" which allows them to examine behavior that might otherwise not be considered illegal.
When the Columbus prosecutor Robert S. Tobias told USA Today that he believed Elliott had been violent toward his accuser, the NFL felt it had enough to continue their pursuit of Elliott's behavior. After a few more months, the NFL finally handed down their suspension on August 11th of this year.
Four days later, Elliott filed an appeal with the NFL that was unsuccessful.
By August 31st, Elliott had moved into the Tom Brady method, and filed a lawsuit in US District Court. After weeks of back-and-forth results in the court systems, today's ruling appears to be final, and Elliott will begin serving his 6 games, starting this weekend.