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The NFL Players Association on Tuesday officially appealed the six-game suspension handed to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott was suspended six games by the NFL on Friday for violating the league's personal conduct policy after multiple domestic violence incidents.
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"Our union has appealed the NFL's six-game suspension of Ezekiel Elliott," the NFLPA said in a statement. "We will represent Ezekiel, as we do all players, to ensure that the NFL is held to its obligation of adhering to principles of industrial due process under the collective bargaining agreement."
Elliott, 22, who was not arrested or charged in the case, has maintained his innocence all along. He was not arrested nor charged in the case.
Elliott was accused by former girlfriend Tiffany Thompson of five domestic assault incidents in July 2016 in Columbus, Ohio, and has been under NFL investigation, although the city attorney's office already announced he will not face criminal charges.
NFL officials said in a statement that it investigated Elliott's case thoroughly and determined that he violated the personal conduct policy. The league examined text messages, interviewed more than a dozen witnesses -- including Elliott and the accuser -- and retained medical and legal experts to help (commissioner Roger) Goodell reach his decision.
Elliott will try to discredit Thompson in the appeal process by highlighting her threats to "ruin his career," including one that was racially based, according to sources.
The appeal game plan of Elliott includes highlighting Thompson's already chronicled text messages encouraging a friend to lie to police about an alleged domestic assault on July 22, misleading testimony to NFL lead investigator Lisa Friel, and repeated threats to ruin his career after breaking off the relationship.
Elliott's representatives also blasted the NFL in a statement Friday for their "factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions" and promised "a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light" during the appeal.
The suspension is scheduled to begin Sept. 2 and Elliott is eligible to return to the Cowboys' roster on Oct. 23, one day after the team's Week 7 road game against the San Francisco 49ers.
As a result of the suspension, the guarantees in the four-year, $24.956 million deal Elliott signed with Dallas in 2016 will be voided, per ESPN. Elliott will forfeit $559,192 in 2017 salary, according to salary cap website Spotrac.
The second-year running is coming off a sensational rookie season in which he rushed for a Cowboys-rookie-record 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns en route to his first career Pro Bowl selection.
