Ezekiel Elliott Will Likely Be Allowed To Play The Entire Season After A Texas Judge Granted A Preliminary Injunction For His Case Against The NFL
NFL- A U.S. District Court judge granted the NFL Players Association’s preliminary injunction request on the behalf of Ezekiel Elliott on Friday, meaning the Dallas Cowboys running back’s suspension is on hold — for now. Judge Amos Mazzant III’s decision allows Elliott to play as the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas reviews the NFLPA’s petition to void his six-game suspension. There’s no timeline for Mazzant III to make a decision on whether to allow the petition to move forward to trial, according to Gabe Feldman, director of the Tulane Sports Law Program. However, there is a good chance he could play the entire 2017 season as the case makes it way through the court.
In his decision, which also include the granting of a temporary restraining order request, Mazzant III determined Elliott didn’t “receive a fundamentally fair hearing” during his appeal in front of arbitrator Harold Henderson last week. The decision went on to state the “circumstances of this case are unmatched by any case this court has seen.” “The question before the court is merely whether Elliott received a fundamentally fair hearing before the arbitrator,” Mazzant wrote. “The answer is he did not. The court finds, based upon the injunction standard, that Elliott was denied a fundamentally fair hearing by [arbitrator Harold] Henderson’s refusal to allow [former girlfriend Tiffany] Thompson and Goodell to testify at the arbitration hearing. Their absence … effectively deprived Elliott of any chance to have a fundamentally fair hearing. The court grants the request for preliminary injunction.”
If Mazzant III grants the NFLPA’s petition request, there’s a strong chance Elliott’s suspension will not happen during the 2017 season, Feldman said. If the judge does not let the case move forward, Elliott’s six-game suspension would begin immediately.
I’ll admit I don’t know much about the law other than what knowledge Mike Portnoy Esq. drops on Pardon My Take. Words like injunctions and restraining order requests make my small blogger brain hurt. But I do know two things:
1. The NFL is pretty much the most unfair organization on the planet when it comes to conducting a fair investigation for its players. Even that sick twisted fuck in North Korea doesn’t ignore due process like Roger the Dodger and company. Patriots and Saints fans are nodding their heads right now. You can tell me the NFL cut every corner and fluffed it’s case in every bullshit way possible and I’d believe with without batting an eyelash.
2. If you are a football player in Texas anytime after Pop Warner, there is a good chance the law will bail you out of a sticky spot if needed. At least that’s what happens in all the movies and TV shows.
So the NFL bringing a case against Ezekiel Elliott into a Texas courtroom was likely going to result in Judge Mazzant getting biblical on the NFL’s ass.
Getting yakked on by a dude whose name starts with Amos and ends with III is a rough look, Roger. I guess today’s blatantly obvious Josh Brown suspension Hail Mary by the NFL fell short (sick pun, Clem). Now we will likely get never ending court cases and legal jargon for the next however months just like when Tom Brady went to court. SWEET! Best of luck to the sketch artist in the Zeke case. Luckily there’s nowhere to go but up.
However the same can’t be said for the NFL’s public image. One thing is to battle with a star player in a case about deflated fucking footballs. Another is to have a domestic violence case get dragged on the way Deflategate did. How the NFL can’t just run an investigation correctly and not have every decision go through the courts after all these years is unbelievable until you remember that a bunch of chuckleheads are in charge.
As for Zeke, Cowboys fans and fantasy owners can rejoice in the fact he can probably play the entire season, even though it feels like the hammer will inevitably drop after the court is done with him since Goodell is the supreme dictator of the NFL. But the Boys get to try to win their Super Bowl this year, as do Zeke fantasy owners.
And as for the Giants game on Sunday night, I’ll let Benny Mac take it from here.
Hey Zeke…BOO!!!
Giants win the NFC East, Cowboys win one of the Wild Cards. Booking it now.