reduce the lists of candidates in preliminary voting

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Ezekiel Elliott will be in New York on Tuesday for the appeal of his six game domestic violence suspension in what will likely be the first of multiple steps to keep him eligible for the Cowboys season opener against the Giants in Dallas in two weeks.

Will he be running the ball the night of Sept. 10? “This is completely unpredictable,” one source close to the action told the Daily News.

Elliott’s hearing, scheduled to last into Wednesday, is expected to take place at the NFL’s Park Avenue headquarters, perhaps even in the Tom Brady Conference Room in the basement where Roger Goodell conducted the marathon 10 hour Deflategate hearing in 2015.

Goodell will not be there this time. He’s handed off the job of appeals officer to Harold Henderson, the former executive director of the NFL Management Council. Really, talk about having the deck stacked. How could the NFLPA sign off once again in the 2011 CBA on a system where Goodell makes the ruling and if he doesn’t hear the appeal himself, it goes to a former high level NFL employee?

Ezekiel Elliott pits NFL vs. players union in ugly public spat
Henderson made one key ruling in advance of the hearing. The NFLPA requested that Elliott’s accuser Tiffany Thompson be present for questioning and the NFL denied the request. The union appealed to Henderson, and in a shocking development, he sided with the NFL.

“They refuse to produce her,” said one Elliott source. “In a he said https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/damontre-m...-c-51.html, she said, it would be nice to know what she said. The player will be under oath, but the accuser won’t walk through the door. It’s indicative of what this is all about.”

The authorities in Columbus did not charge Elliott. Goodell uses different standards in the personal conduct policy. Henderson’s decision is expected Friday. The suspension remains on hold until Henderson rules. What has to happen for Elliott to be in uniform against the Giants?

Henderson has to wipe out the suspension entirely. “The union is trying to get the whole discipline eliminated Stephen Paea Jersey,” the source said. “It’s based on the facts and procedures.” The Jets have a better chance to win the Super Bowl this year than Elliott has to get the slate wiped clean. The most he can hope for is Henderson reducing the suspension to four games on a conditional basis if Elliott follows the guidelines set forth by the NFL to get a clinical evaluation and, if recommended, go for treatment or counseling.

NFLPA calls NFL accusation of leaked info in Elliott case a lie
If Henderson’s ruling is not to Elliott’s liking, which means he doesn’t completely eliminate it, he’s expected to immediately file for a temporary restraining order, which is granted in emergency cases if the plaintiff shows he will face irreparable harm if and that he can prove he has a likely chance to win in court. The TRO, if granted, lasts 10 days. The NFL can immediately appeal. It the TRO remains intact, it can be later be extended 10 days while a preliminary injunction is sought. If Elliott gets the preliminary injunction, there is a stay on the suspension until there is a ruling in the case.

If Elliott wins the initial rounds in court, he can play until his case is heard and adjudicated. That could take a couple of weeks or it could take months.

What has to happen for Elliott’s suspension to miss the Giants game?

Henderson’s ruling involves some form of reduced suspension and Elliott elects to accept it. Not likely.

NFL commish Goodell finds new friend to alienate with Ezekiel ban
Henderson rules against him and the courts refuse to issue a TRO.

There is one huge gamble for Elliott. If he chooses not to accept Henderson’s ruling, sues the NFL and gets a TRO and then a preliminary injunction, he is at the mercy of the court when the case will be heard. Only a judge who is a big Cowboys fan would defer the case until after the season.

Otherwise, if the case is heard in October and takes two weeks and Elliott loses, he would then serve the six game suspension at a more important time of the season. If the case isn’t resolved until December and he loses, then he could be unavailable if Dallas makes the playoffs.

If Elliott beat up his girlfriend as alleged, then he has far bigger personal issues than how soon he’s back on the field.

What Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension means for Giants in NFC East
HALL OF SHAME FOR YOUNG

One of these years https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/anthony-hi...-c-52.html, George Young is going to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The late Giants GM lost out Friday for the one contributor finalist spot in the class of 2018 to former Washington and San Diego GM Bobby Beathard, who was his best friend in football.

There are two spots for the class of 2019 and I think Young and former Cowboys VP Gil Brandt will be elected. Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is third in line.

I’m disappointed the contributors committee didn’t pick Young for the fourth year in a row. So far, he’s lost out to Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, Ed DeBartolo, Jerry Jones and Paul Tagliabue https://www.cowboysdaclub.com/damien-wil...-c-50.html, although Tagliabue was subsequently voted down by the full 48 member committee in February. Before this new category was created in 2014, Young had been a finalist as a modern era candidate but didn’t get the required 80 of the vote on the last ballot.

I have one of the 48 votes, but I’m not on either the senior committee or the contributor committee. Each has nine members. They reduce the lists of candidates in preliminary voting and then five members of each committee meet in Canton to vote.

Goodell avoids soft Ezekiel Elliott punishment after past flubs
Beathard built two Super Bowl winners in Washington, one Chargers team that went to the Super Bowl but lost 49 26 to the 49ers and deserved to make the HOF. Just not ahead of Young.

I think the HOF is well run by the folks in Canton, but it’s such a bad look that they used Charley Casserly and John Madden as consultants last week to the contributors committee. Casserly worked for Beathard in Washington and eventually succeeded him and won a Super Bowl. Madden was Beathard’s roommate and teammate at Cal Poly.

There is a perception problem that the fix was in for Beathard. He was already among the favorites going into the meeting Friday and to have two of his friends as consultants providing input on the 10 finalists is just wrong. Casserly and Madden gave their opinion on each and were not consulted again and did not have a vote.

Casserly and Madden are football lifers and men of integrity, but there’s a lot of other people the HOF could have picked to help out this year.

How Sammy Watkins trade, Ezekiel Elliott suspension affect drafts
Young is among the three or four most important people in Giants history. He’s also such a big part of NFL history that this category could have been named for him.

KLECKO STILL WAITING, TOO

It was also disappointing that Joe Klecko lost out to Jerry Kramer and Robert Brazile for the two senior finalist spots. The good news is there is more conversation about Klecko’s candidacy now than in recent year. … The scouting combine will be back in Indianapolis in 2018, according to the NFL’s 2017 18 calendar. There had been talk it would move to Los Angeles. That still could happen in the future but for next year it’s in Lucas Oil Stadium Feb. 27 March 5. … The league has not yet announced the site of the April 26 28 draft next year, but with the bathroom bill failing in Texas, the Cowboys are the favorite to host. Their plan is for the first round on Thursday night and the second and third rounds on Friday night to be held at AT T Stadium in Arlington with rounds three through seven on Saturday afternoon to be conducted at The Star, their new state of the art training facility in Frisco. If the league doesn’t like their split plan, the Cowboys are willing to hold all three days at one site. The announcement should be coming in the next month.

CHALK TALK

I will be hosting “Chalk Talk” at WFAN again this season. Opening night for 2017 will be Sept. 13 at 6 30 p.m. My guests will be Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Harry Carson and Super Bowl champion Jim Burt. It’s 30 1/2 years since the Giants’ first Super Bowl championship. Carson and Burt were not only great players, but they are great storytellers. Listen to WFAN in the week leading up to the event to win tickets.

WHOSE THE MAN FOR TOM?

Now that Tom Coughlin has a team with Blake Bortles and Chad Henne at QB, he’s probably having dreams about Eli Manning. It’s a good thing for Coughlin’s blood pressure he’s not coaching the Jaguars but I put the over under at 10 games before he’s down on the sidelines standing next to Doug Marrone. … Rookie DeShone Kizer will be the Browns 27th different starting quarterback since their expansion season in 1999. … Cyrus Mehri, who along with the late Johnnie Cochran helped initiate the Rooney Rule in the NFL, requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate for every head coaching job, plans to challenge DeMaurice Smith next year in the election for NFLPA executive director. If Mehri gets the job, it will be hard for him to be more pompous than Smith. … The collective bargaining agreement still has four seasons remaining but Smith is already posturing with his prediction of a work stoppage in 2021. Just what fans want to hear on the eve of a new season.