According to Espn.com, The NFL players’ union has issued notice that it will request an en banc hearing — a hearing of the full panel of judges with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans — on behalf of Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. In addition, the union will request that Elliott’s six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations — which had been restored by a 2-1 vote of a 5th Circuit panel on Thursday — be stayed while request for the en banc hearing is considered.
The NFLPA, and as confirmed on the Fifth Circuit’s official website, says it has 14 days to file its petition for an en banc appeal hearing, during which time Elliott’s suspension would not be in place, assuming that court stays the suspension while it considers the request.
Espn.com says a petition for a rehearing en banc “is to be used only for cases involving questions of exceptional importance or to secure or maintain uniformity of the court’s decisions,” according to the Fifth Circuit’s website, which also says that the court “is fully justified in imposing sanctions on its own initiative for petitions which have little merit”
The NFL announced Thursday that Elliott’s suspension was effective immediately, though the appeal process still has to run its course and the Cowboys are not playing this weekend.
Information from Espn.com contributed to this report.
