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Court sets Oct 2 hearing date on Elliott-suspension injunction stay

The fifth circuit court has not bowed to the NFL’s request to have a hearing on their emergency stay request of the injunction currently halting Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension. On Friday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has set a date of Monday, Oct 2 at 1 p.m. CST to overturn a preliminary injunction which was handed down by District Court judge Amos Mazzant.

That previous ruling allows Elliott to play in games while the legal system decides whether or not the league acted within the confines of the CBA in handing down punishment to the Cowboys running back over his domestic violence investigation.

The league is claiming it will suffer irreparable harm if Elliott is allowed to play while the courts decide whether or not to re-instate the suspension.

*Read: Jerry Jones thinks commissioner Roger Goodell is overpaid*

Elliott and the NFLPA have argued the process, including the punishment handed down by Roger Goodell and the subsequent appeal denial from arbiter Harold Henderson, showed a fundamental unfairness to Elliott in that it did not have credible evidence, nor did it give Elliott a chance to question his accuser, Tiffany Thompson, nor the commissioner on his decision.

The league had asked the fifth circuit to rule between this past Tuesday, September 19, and next Tuesday, September 26. Earlier in the week, Judge Mazzant denied the league’s request to the district court under the same premise.

The court of appeals has issued a deadline of 5 p.m. Wednesday, September 27, to present arguments as to why, or why not, the case should have originally started in District Court for East Texas.

The league has argued the NFLPA filing prior to Henderson’s appeal decision invalidates the injunction.

Of course, Elliott’s team feels the player would be the one suffering were he to be suspended while the process unfolds. Elliott would miss games if the stay was enacted, and if the courts decided he wasn’t given a fair process, those games could not be replayed. He would only be in line for making base salary, and missing those games over what is a finite window of opportunity to play and increase endorsement potential is obvious.

Elliott is now guaranteed to be eligble to play Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals and the following week against the Los Angeles Rams.

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