Game Over for Ezekiel Elliott; Appeal at Second Circuit Dropped

Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott has accepted his six-game suspension and withdrawn his appeal at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, ending the battle that started in July 2016, when Elliott’s ex-girlfriend accused him of domestic violence. After a year-long investigation, his suspension was announced August 11, 2017. Elliott fought the suspension through three different courts, and got three reprieves that kept him on the field for the first half of the season.

He will sit out the next five games, and is set to return …

October 31, 2017 NFL

Ezekiel Elliott Back on the Bench as Suspension Reinstated

After hearing arguments from the NFL and the NFL Players Association, U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott’s request for a preliminary injunction to block his six-game suspension. The decision comes only two weeks after the same court had granted Elliott’s request for a temporary restraining order that had then frozen the suspension.

This was Elliott’s second request for a preliminary injunction since he received the suspension on August 11 following domestic violence allegations. The first request had been granted by …

October 14, 2017 NFL

Is Ezekiel Elliott’s Suspension Finally Going to be Enforced After Appellate Court Sides with NFL?

The latest motion in the legal battle over Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension has been decided. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cleared the way for the NFL to enforce a six-game suspension on Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott over domestic violence accusations, siding with the league in the most recent high-profile fight over its ability to penalize players for off-field behavior. Specifically, the Fifth Circuit, in a 2-1 opinion, granted a stay for the injunction that was postponing Elliott’s six-game suspension. The majority ruled that …

September 20, 2017 NFL

Ezekiel Elliott Will Stay on the Field for Now

U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant ruled on Monday, September 18, 2017, that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot’s suspension will remain on hold, allowing Elliot to continue to play. Judge Mazzant, the same judge who originally granted the preliminary injunction freezing the suspension, has held the injunction will remain in place because the “NFL deprived the NFLPA the right to present…any evidence relevant to the [arbitration] hearing.” Mazzant wrote that “the court still has a role to play in reviewing arbitral awards coming from …

September 3, 2017 NFL

Ezekiel Elliot Throws Red Flag Alleging Unfair Arbitration Hearing

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) filed a lawsuit and a temporary injunction in federal court on August 31, 2017 seeking to vacate an arbitration award before it is announced, after a three-day arbitration hearing with arbitrator Harold Henderson. The suit was filed in the face of anticipation that Henderson will rule in favor of the NFL rather than Elliot and uphold Elliot’s six-game suspension.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had imposed the six-game suspension on August 11 after a …

March 3, 2016 MLB

“You’re Out” — Yanks Pitcher Suspended 30 Games

On Tuesday March 1, 2016, Major League Baseball announced it had suspended New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman for the first 30 games of the upcoming season. Spawning from an October domestic violence incident in which Chapman allegedly choked his girlfriend and illegally fired gunshots in his garage, the suspension comes as the first under the League’s new domestic violence policy. Chapman, through his attorney, also released a statement on Tuesday, saying he would not be appealing the suspension; although, he refused to …

February 29, 2016 Litigation / NFL

Dallas Police Refer Johnny Manziel’s Case to Grand Jury

The news surrounding former Heisman winning quarterback Johnny Manziel has gone from bad to worse. Dallas police have indicated that they will refer Manziel’s case, stemming from a well-publicized January 30, 2016 incident with ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley, to the district attorney as a misdemeanor assault/domestic violence charge. In court documents, Crowley accuses Manziel of hitting her and threatening to kill her in a sequence of events that began in a Dallas hotel room and ended at her Fort Worth apartment. Crowley alleges the blow …

April 6, 2015 NFL

Innocent Until Proven Guilty? Not in the Court of Public Opinion: The Double Standard facing the Dallas Cowboys

Gregory Hardy was born on July 28, 1988. He was the drafted with the 179^th pick by the Carolina Panthers. He has 204 tackles, 34.0 sacks, and has forced 7 fumbles in his NFL career. Hardy was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2013. On the field Hardy is dominant. Off the field is a different story.

On May 13, 2014, Hardy was arrested on charges of domestic violence in Mecklenberg County, North Carolina. On July 15, 2014, after a bench trial, Judge Rebecca …

December 19, 2014 Litigation / NFL

NFL Players Association Sues NFL over Adrian Peterson’s Suspension

Following the arbitrator’s decision on Friday that upheld Adrian Peterson’s suspension by the league, the NFL Players Association (“NFLPA”) filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.

According to the filing, the NFLPA claimed that arbitrator Harold Henderson was prejudiced and unfair in affirming the suspension. The NFLPA argued Henderson’s former executive position at and financial ties to the NFL make him biased. Moreover, it further claimed that the decision ignored due process and followed the NFL’s new policy, which was implemented without collective …

December 18, 2014 NFL

Bad Press For The NFL Leads to Enhanced Personal Conduct Policy

In the wake of countless controversies of the NFL regarding sexual assaults and domestic violence, the NFL has officially announced that it has a revised and strengthened Personal Conduct Policy for all NFL employees. Over the past several months, domestic violence has been a prevailing problem in the NFL with two of the most notorious instances revolving around Ray Rice, former running back and Super Bowl Champion with the Baltimore Ravens, and Adrian Peterson, suspended running back for the Minnesota Vikings.

Rice, originally known for …