Ezekiel Elliott’s appeal of his six-game suspension from the NFL is set to begin being heard on Tuesday. Apparently Elliott’s camp is not entering that hearing with much optimism.
Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson reports that Elliott’s camp expects to lose the appeal of the suspension for a violation of the league’s conduct policy for many reasons.
For one, the arbitrator on the case is Harold Henderson, a former league executive whom the NFLPA does not believe is neutral. Secondly, Robinson reports that Henderson refused a request to make Tiffany Thompson — the woman who accused Elliott of domestic violence — appear for cross-examination at the hearing. Elliott’s side also asked for notes and six specific Thompson interviews available during the hearing, but that was reportedly denied.
For all those reasons, Elliott’s camp reportedly does not think the appeal will work in their favor. They are prepared to file a lawsuit immediately if the appeal does not go in their favor.
Additionally, the NFLPA reportedly will have attorney Jeffrey Kessler assist them in Elliott’s case. Kessler has gone up against the NFL many times, including in the Deflategate case. Elliott is expected to attend his appeal hearing, though Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is not — he’s said to still be furious over the case.
