NFLPA will request full-panel appeal of Elliott decision

The NFL players’ union said Friday night it will request a hearing of the full panel of judges with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on behalf of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.

On Thursday, Elliott had his preliminary injunction thrown out and the 5th Circuit Court ordered the case to be dismissed. Elliott was appealing his suspension of six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy because of an alleged domestic violence incident.

The appeals court in New Orleans voted 2-1 in favor of the NFL, which requested an emergency hearing after a district court in Texas blocked the suspension last month. The appeals court ordered the Texas court to dismiss Elliott’s case.

Pratik Shah, a lawyer representing the NFL, insisted the NFL Players Association filed its case in the wrong jurisdiction per last month’s hearing in Sherman, Texas.

The Circuit Court agreed and said in its majority decision that the NFLPA filed its lawsuit to have Elliott’s suspension dissolved before an arbitrator could make his decision.

“At the time the NFLPA filed the complaint, it was possible the arbitrator could have issued a final decision that was favorable to Elliott,” the three-judge panel wrote. “Elliott cannot show it was futile to wait for a final decision simply because he believed the arbitrator would issue an unfavorable ruling. As there was no final decision, Elliott had not yet exhausted the contracted-for remedies.”

Elliot and his legal team countered by informing a New York judge that he plans to file a petition for a rehearing before the full 5th Circuit Court.

According the 5th Circuit’s website, Elliott is filing a petition for a rehearing en banc, which “is to be used only for cases involving questions of exceptional importance or to secure of maintain uniformity of the court’s decisions. The court also states on their website that the court is “full justified in imposing sanctions on its own initiative for petitions which have little merit.”

The 22-year-old Elliott was found to be in violation of the personal conduct policy by the NFL and the suspension was handed down on Aug. 11.

Elliott, who was not arrested nor charged in the case, maintains his innocence after being accused of assaulting his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson. The original punishment was issued by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after a 13-month league investigation.

Dallas’ next game is Oct. 22 at San Francisco.

Elliott rushed for 393 yards on 105 carries in five games while his case was in the court system. As a rookie, he led the NFL with 1,631 rushing yards last season.