NFLPA drops lawsuit over Ezekiel Elliott case

The NFLPA has dropped its lawsuit after Ezekiel Elliott announced he was pulling his appeal.

In what has been a rollercoaster of events, Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension is officially final. He began a six-game suspension last week, but there was a caveat. He, as well as the NFLPA, could have continued to fight and appeal the suspension. However, it seems that both have accepted the result. Hours after Elliott dropped his appeal, the NFLPA announced that it has dropped its lawsuit against the league.

In a statement on Wednesday, the NFLPA announced they are withdrawing their lawsuit after appealing it to “its logical conclusion.” The NFLPA fought hard to appeal Elliott’s suspension, and succeeded in postponing it this long. The six-game suspension was supposed to begin at the start of the season, but it was not until Week 10 that Elliott actually missed a game.

The case itself has been quite controversial, especially because the Cowboys’ star was never actually charged with a crime. The NFLPA claims that “the NFL’s disciplinary process is a sham and a lie” and their fight proved it. It has become apparent over the years that the NFL struggles to correctly discipline its players. Ray Rice, Tom Brady, and not Ezekiel Elliott… just to name a few.

The NFLPA exists to defend the players of the league from injustice. Unfortunately, it cannot always succeed. With the withdrawal of their appeal, the players association essentially admitted defeat. However, Elliott dropped his lawsuit first, which makes it difficult to continue the fight.

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In the future, hopefully the NFL figures out a better way to discipline its players because this wasn’t it. Elliott will now miss five more games, and will not be eligible to return against the Seahawks on Christmas Eve. This significantly hinders the Cowboys’ playoff hopes, but it doesn’t eliminate them. Elliott, like many others, hopes they can stay afloat.