The NFL has filed a response to the NFLPA in the Fifth Circuit Court in Eastern Texas on Monday morning, a move meant to potentially expedite the entire Ezekiel Elliott court case.
BREAKING: NFL files reply brief with Fifth Circuit. Briefing now complete. Decision on stay of Elliott injunction could come today/tomorrow.
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) September 18, 2017
Monday’s filing means that a ruling in the case could come before the end of the business day. Remember, this is in response to a preliminary injunction from the court to stay the original six-game suspension the NFL levied against Elliott for his alleged involvement in multiple domestic violence situations (more on that here).
Should the court rule with the NFL here, Elliott’s suspension would then be reinstated pending further action from the NFLPA. If the court rules with the union and Elliott, he’ll be eligible to play until further action is taken on the league’s behalf.
More than anything, the NFL is making sure that it believes the process itself should be expedited here.
NFL: The "alacrity" with which NFLPA produced its 20-page response underscores the "exigencies" of this matter & the need for expedition
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) September 18, 2017
It will be interesting to see what comes of this. But the odds most definitely appear to be stacked against the NFL.