FRISCO, Texas _ The road appears to have come to an end for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott in New York federal court room.
A three-judge panel in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied his motion for a preliminary injunction to block a six-game suspension from the NFL for allegedly committed domestic violence against former girlfriend Tiffany Thompson.
The stay has been lifted and Elliott, 22, is officially placed on the suspension list for the next six games, starting Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
Per the court ruling: "Upon due consideration, it is hereby ORDERED that the Appellant's motion for an injunction pending appeal is DENIED because the Appellant has failed to meet the requisite standard. See LaRouche v. Kezer, 20 F.3d 68, 72 (2d Cir. 1994). The temporary stay entered on November 3, 2017, is terminated."
While his appeal of the suspension is still ongoing and will be heard on an expedited basis, per the Second Circuit ruling, NFL vice-president Joe Lockhart, Elliott's suspension would go into effect as soon as the stay was lifted.
Elliott, who was never charged or arrested in the case and maintained his innocence all along, was in New York for the hearing in hopes of letting the judges know how important it was to him to clear his name.
He is now suspended and barred from the Cowboys' facility.
Elliott, who second in the NFL with 783 rushing yards and tied for the league lead with seven rushing scores, won't be able to rejoin his teammates on the field until the Dec. 24 match-up against the Seattle Seahawks. He will miss games against the Falcons, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Los Angeles Chargers, the Washington Redskins, the New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders.
Elliott was initially suspended Aug. 11 but has been allowed to play to this point because of dizzying array of injunctions, restraining orders and court rulings after his appeal was rejected by NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson.
