Ad Disclosure
Federal judge Amos Mazzant, of the Eastern District of Texas, has made his ruling on the Ezekiel Elliott situation and it greatly favors the Cowboys running back.
On Friday, it was reported that Elliott was granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the NFL from upholding the six-game suspension that was originally handed down in August.
According to SportsDay Cowboys insider Kate Hairopoulos, Mazzant needed to decide whether Elliott received a fair hearing before the arbitrator in the case. It was ruled that the Dallas RB did not.
Judge: Elliott was denied a fundamentally fair hearing by Henderson’s
refusal to allow Thompson and Goodell to testify at the arbitration— Kate Hairopoulos (@khairopoulos) September 8, 2017
Breaking: #Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott has been granted on his request for a "preliminary injunction." pic.twitter.com/CifzXvgnyi
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 8, 2017
Following the decision, the NFL Players Association released a statement:
Our statement on today's ruling on the temporary restraining order in the Ezekiel Elliott case: pic.twitter.com/g46h7qh2GI
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) September 8, 2017
Elliott was suspended for his alleged domestic violence incident involving an ex-girlfriend in 2016. It took a full year for the NFL to conclude its investigation.
Once the investigation was completed, Elliott was handed a six-game suspension. Not long after the initial suspension, Elliott was reportedly prepared to appeal the decision.
It appears now that Elliott will be eligible for the entire 2017 season.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB