NFL lawyer Dan Nash told Judge Paul Crotty of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York that Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has no chance of winning his case that would vacate a six-game suspension.
The NFL suspended Elliott for six games, but the Cowboys' star received a temporary restraining order which delayed the punishment.
It appears the NFL is trying to use Tom Brady's "Deflategate" case as precedent for a definitive Elliott ruling. Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season, after appealing the suspension several times but eventually withdrawing his case in July 2016.
"[T]hey didn’t want to be here,” Nash told Crotty on Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. “They didn’t want to confront the Brady decision because they know under the Brady decision they have no chance of success on the merits, none.”
Elliott will be required to make his case again on Oct. 30 in front of Judge Katherine Fallia of the Southern District of New York, who was on vacation when the running back was granted this most recent temporary restraining order.
The NFL will not compromise with Elliott in trying to reach a definitive ruling.
"We're not looking to make a deal, we're very confident our arguments will prevail in court," league spokesman Joe Lockhart said Friday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Elliott will play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
