After more than 25 hours of discussion, including Ezekiel Elliott testifying in his own defense, the hearing to appeal a six-game suspension of the Dallas Cowboys star running back for violating the league's personal conduct policy finally ended Thursday afternoon.
Now the wait begins for NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson to issue a decision on whether to uphold the suspension, reduce it or vacate it entirely.
Elliott's hope of a significant reduction or success in federal court were improved during the proceedings that began on Tuesday, according to a source.
His camp promised controverting evidence to the league's 13-month domestic violence investigation of Elliott, based on claims made by former girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. The possible bombshell evidence came in the form of NFL lead investigator Kia Roberts.
Roberts recommended no suspension for Elliott following her interviews with Thompson during the investigation _ a fact she testified to during the appeals hearing with Henderson, according to a source.
Roberts' no discipline recommendation is the main reason Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expressed so much confidence in Elliott not being suspended before the initial decision and is the likely the source of his anger since the NFL announced the suspension on Aug. 11.
Jones was told there would be no suspension by a top NFL executive, according to a source.
But Roberts' recommendation never made it into the NFL's final report and the official suspension letter on Aug. 11, which cited the league's findings of three instances of domestic violence by Elliott against Thompson based on the victim's testimony and photographic evidence.
Even more troubling is that when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell conducted a meeting to discuss discipline for Elliott, it included Lisa Friel, the senior vice president for investigations, Jeff Pash, executive vice president and general counsel and Adolpho Birch, senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs, among others.
But Roberts was not at the meeting, where Friel recommended a six-game suspension to Goodell.
It was testified during the appeal hearing that Friel barred Roberts from the meeting, per a source.
It's those failures of the process that Elliott and the NFLPA attacked during the appeal hearing and plan to exploit if they have to go to federal court to seek a temporary injunction.
That Roberts' recommendation never made it into the report and she was not involved in the decision making, even though she ran point on the fact finding with the accuser, are trap doors that could come back to haunt the NFL if this goes to federal court.
Now, the ball is in Henderson's court.
It is little wonder that ESPN's Adam Shefter reported Thursday that Henderson is being pressured into making a decision by Monday and that a reduction is likely.
The date is key because if a decision is not made by Tuesday, Elliott could be on the field for the Sept. 10 season opener against the New York Giants. As long as Elliott is under appeal, he is eligible to play. That is the assumption the Cowboys are operating on, according to a source.
And if a ruling comes back that is unacceptable to Elliott, it could spark a race to federal court for a possible temporary injunction to block the suspension.
If Elliott's full suspension is upheld, he would be barred from taking part in any team activities starting on Saturday, the day of final roster cuts from 90 to 53. Elliott wouldn't be eligible to return until the week of the Cowboys' game against the Washington Redskins on Oct. 29.
When the league suspended Elliott on Aug. 11, following a 13-month investigation into claims made by Thompson, it concluded that there was "substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that (Elliott) engaged in physical violence against Ms. Thompson on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016."
Goodell's decision was aided by a four-member advisory committee, including Peter Harvey, former attorney general of New Jersey; Ken Houston, a Hall of Fame player; Tonya Lovelace, chief executive of the Women of Color Network Inc.; and Mary Jo White, former U.S. attorney and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
He also cited photographic evidence and testimony of medical professionals.
The league has no verifiable proof that it was Elliott who caused injury to Thompson or was the source of the bruises. The pictures don't show Elliott in the act of committing domestic violence and there were no witnesses.
So the evidence would not hold up in a court of law, per a source.
It essentially boiled down to a situation of the league believing Thompson more than it did Elliott.
Elliott was never charged or arrested in the incident as the Columbus, Ohio, city attorney's office cited inconsistent and misleading information from Thompson.
