Ezekiel Elliott might be able to return to the field sooner rather than later, thanks to the knowledge and experience garnered from Tom Brady’s “Deflate Gate” court battle.
Things were not looking good for Elliott’s defense team ahead of his appeal hearing next week, as Elliott suffered two setbacks that could harm his case. The first setback came when Elliott’s representative asked Roger Goodell to name an independent arbiter that was not connected to the NFL in any way. Goodell did not comply and named league executive Harold Henderson, which the union views as being the furthers thing from independent or neutral.
Elliott’s defense team also requested that his accuser Tiffany Thompson be made available for cross-examination during the appeal hearing, but Henderson denied that request. Henderson also denied allowing notes and interviews Thompson gave to investigators during the hearing, which puts Elliott’s defense team in a poor position. However, even with these losses there may be light at the end of the tunnel for Elliott.
The NFLPA and Elliott’s defense team have been trying to discover procedural violations that would allow them to take their case to federal court. Procedural violations were the basis for Tom Brady bringing his case to federal court and delaying his suspension until the case was resolved. Sources have informed Yahoo Sports that there are several procedural violations that occurred when the NFL named Henderson as an arbitrator, denied allowing the cross-examination of Thompson, and prohibiting notes and interviews Thompson gave to investigators from being used during the upcoming appeal hearing.
The NFLPA appears certain that procedural violations have occurred, since they have hired famed attorney Jeffrey Kessler to handle Elliott’s appeal. A federal court filing for Elliott by Kessler is likely the next step. Kessler represented Tom Brady during deflate-gate and battled the NFL fiercely on the parameters of the collective bargaining agreement. Kessler’s work did result in Tom Brady being allowed to play while the deflate-gate case sloshed through federal courts. Kessler’s involvement raises the prospect of Elliott playing immediately this season, so you may not want to hesitate during your next fantasy draft.