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OT: NFL union filing suit after arbitrator appeal

LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/sep/01/nfl-players-union-sues-over-elliotts-6-game-domest/

The NFL players' union sued the league on behalf of Ezekiel Elliott late Thursday night, seeking to vacate the upcoming ruling of an arbitrator on the appeal of the Dallas running back's six-game suspension in a domestic violence case.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Texas, accuses the NFL's appeal process of being "fundamentally unfair" because arbitrator Harold Henderson denied a request to have his ex-girlfriend testify at a hearing that wrapped up earlier Thursday.

The suit also claims that NFL executives hid information that was favorable to Elliott before Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed the punishment Aug. 11.

The lawsuit accuses NFL special counsel Lisa Friel of withholding from Goodell the word of co-lead investigator Kia Roberts, who the suit says concluded that the accuser wasn't credible and that discipline wasn't warranted.
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Will be interesting to see what the judge/court does as this procedure is all defined in CBA.

The only reason I can see for filing suit before arbitrator ruling is the "short" NFL season. Preseason is almost over, and teams play only one game/week. So suspension would be for a month and a half of season.
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Gnashville

Gnashville

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Jan 7, 2003
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Interesting to see what happens on many fronts. Given how the NFL fumbled (pardon the pun) the Ray Rice incident, they became hardcore toward domestic abuse. Now they may have gone overboard and any woman with an axe to grind can just claim abuse and get a player suspended with any justification. I'm not saying Elliot was guilty or innocent just making an obersvation.
 

USAUSA1

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Dec 1, 2016
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The union have to do this but the real question is do they believe Elliot?
 

jetsv2

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Jan 13, 2013
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USAUSA1 said:
The union have to do this but the real question is do they believe Elliot?
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The league investigator came to the conclusion that the accuser was not credible and that Elliot shouldn't be punished, the league withheld that info from Goodell when he was deciding on a punishment. The league investigator believed Elliot, im not sure why the PA wouldn't.
 
LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...les-appeal-of-elliotts-preliminary-injunction

NFL files appeal of injunction and asks for expedited hearing.

The move was expected after U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant III granted the NFL Players Association's preliminary injunction request on behalf of Elliott on Friday, putting the six-game suspension of Dallas Cowboys running back on hold.
...
As NFL Network's Mike Garafolo and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport note, the league wants Elliott to serve the suspension this year. NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart also says Elliott won't be placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list.
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"This is part of the ongoing fight between the players association and the league over the power of the commissioner," Feldman said. "We have seen the NFL go to great lengths in court to affirm and strengthen and maintain they believe in what they collectively bargained for. And we've seen the players association fight and say that the commissioner has overreached and they want to protect the rights of the players ... [The NFL] doesn't want precedent out there that says a court can interfere with the commissioner's decision or with an arbitrator's decision. So I think this fight will continue even if it's irrelevant to Elliott being on the field or not."
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Not being on the exempt list could have cap issues for team.

Sounds like the union will fight until the commish has no power in appeals (contrary to CBA).
 
tony d

tony d

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Will be interesting to see what happens here. I think Zeke should get a suspension but only for a game or 2 not 6 games.
 
mouser

mouser

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tony d said:
Will be interesting to see what happens here. I think Zeke should get a suspension but only for a game or 2 not 6 games.
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I don't see any way a court would shorten the suspension. They'll either uphold it or toss it completely out.

As we saw with Brady, odds are heavily against Elliott prevailing in court.
 
LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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Hearing that judge ordered stay and player expected to play this weekend.

Haven't had time to look up story, url
 
LadyStanley

LadyStanley

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...o-settlement-but-nfl-says-its-not-interested/

My summary: one game stay, but suspension (probably) imposed starting with next game. Player says he'll never stop fighting suspension (seeking reduction in # of games); but NFL and NFLPA appear to want to just drop the appeals and impose (full) sentence (probably not the right terms, but that's what it feels like).

"It's unclear how many games they have proposed to the NFL," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote Sunday, "but neither the league nor the NFLPA intends to settle this case and have Elliott's suspension reduced at this time."
Any attempt to accept a suspension, which the NFL initially handed down in August after a yearlong investigation into domestic violence allegations, would contrast what Elliott himself has suggested -- "No," he told the Dallas Morning News when asked if he'd ever consider ending his fight against the suspension.
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On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted an NFLPA request for a brief administrative stay, a follow-up to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla's denial of Elliott's request for a preliminary injunction. In other words, the second-year back was (again) allowed to suit up for this week's game. As CBS Sports' Jared Dubin explained, however, a real ruling on Elliott's future should be on the way:
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Getting to the point that "playoff" games could be missed.
 
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