Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is suspended again. Through nine weeks of the NFL season, Elliott’s playing status has changed seven times.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Elliott’s motion for an emergency injunction Thursday and terminated last week’s temporary stay that blocked his suspension, meaning that the league can once again enforce it. Elliott was originally suspended in August after a league investigation found evidence that he “engaged in physical violence against Ms. [Tiffany] Thompson on multiple occasions,” in July of 2016, according to Todd Jones, the NFL’s special counsel for conduct.
Elliott will begin serving his suspension immediately. He will miss the Cowboys’ next four games against the Falcons, Eagles, Chargers, and Redskins, as his appeal is scheduled for December 1, according to The Dallas Morning News’s Kate Hairopoulos. If Elliott wins that appeal, he could return to the field against the New York Giants in Week 14. If he serves his full six-game suspension, he would return in Week 16 against the Seahawks on Christmas Eve.
Elliott’s playing status has ping-ponged back and forth since he challenged the NFL’s arbitration process in court in August. The legal battle has now spanned five hearings, three states, and nine different judges—and it is still not over.
Right now, the only certainty is that this will never end.
