Ezekiel Elliott drops appeal and will serve full six-game suspension

According to Todd Archer of ESPN Dallas, Ezekiel Elliott has withdrawn his appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will serve the remaining five games of his six-game suspension. Elliott will continue to train outside the US during his suspension and will rejoin the team on Christmas Eve against the Seahawks.

In a statement released to the press by his agents, Elliott continues to deny any wrongdoing.

“This decision is in no way an admission of any wrongdoing, and Mr. Elliott is pleased that the legal fight mounted by him and his team resulted in the disclosure of many hidden truths regarding this matter, as well public exposure of the NFL’s mismanagement of its disciplinary process. Mr. Elliott will maximize this time away from the game and come back even stronger both on and off the field. He intends to release a final personal statement in the upcoming weeks, and until then we have no further comment.”

The six-game suspension stems from allegations of domestic abuse in July 2016 from a former girlfriend of Elliott’s in Columbus, Ohio. Although the police never filed charges against Elliott, the NFL claimed to have enough evidence that Elliott violated the league’s personal conduct policy and imposed a six-game ban.

The Cowboys fell to the Falcons 27-7 last week while Elliott served the first of his six games, dropping Dallas to 5-4 on the season and three games behind the NFC leading Philadelphia Eagles.