The NFLPA got a Restraining Order against the NFL, and now Ezekiel Elliott can play until the issue is resolved. Court cases tend to take a long time to resolve, and that leaves open the possibility that Elliott could play the entire season. This is exactly what the Patriots did with the NFL when Tom Brady was suspended for Deflate Gate, but it might not turn out the same because Elliott did something completely different from what Brady did.
This is domestic violence
The authorities could not charge Elliott, but the NFL clearly thinks that Elliott did something serious.
They are willing to go to court to get the right to suspend him, and the NFL could spend millions of the owner's money fighting this fight. They will drag this out for as long as they need, and it could last until the time of the draft or later. Elliott may end up serving the suspension next year, and it may be reduced if the NFL cannot convince the courts that they have the power to suspend him.
Not all under NFL purview
The NFL should only have purview over things that Elliott does when he is in the NFL. They want to add in things that happened while he was in college, and that is a point of contention for the NFLPA. The NFLPA is not happy thinking that the NFL will dig through the past lives of players, and they may be afraid that this opens up players to other investigations that could be deadly for their contracts and careers.
Anything is fair game
This is purely an example, but let us assume for a moment that some player in the NFL was an impressionable 14-year-old who set fire to an abandoned house. Let us assume that he got caught, the court system gave him community service, and the case was later made to go away as he got it expunged when he turned 18.
That would be a large skeleton in someone's closet, but it is a settled matter for the courts. Would the NFL come out and suspend a guy for that because they feel like he is a danger to society? It appears that the NFL wants to have that kind of power. You can call me the hot take guy, but suspending Elliott for things he did before he got to the NFL is a gateway drug for the NFL to investigate every player deep into their past.
Did a guy get caught handing off a medication to a classmate when he was in 9th grade? Will the NFL suspend him for that and put him in the drug program?
You may not think this is a big deal, but Elliott should only be punished for what he did while in the NFL. It is all disgusting, but there has to be a line drawn for the league.
