Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott won’t formally appeal his six-game suspension until Tuesday, but we’re already getting early word on what his case might look like. Elliott’s team will argue that ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson made a number of threats to “ruin his career,” including one threat that was racial in nature, sources tell Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram. Elliott’s reps will also highlight inconsistencies in Thompson’s testimony throughout the process. 

It’s not clear which of these “quoted threats” are substantiated by written evidence. In one instance, Elliott’s team alleges that Thompson said: “You are a black male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to be believe you.” Elliott is “100 percent certain” that Thompson said this, per Hill’s source, but that might not hold much weight with the league office or in a court of law if it cannot be proven.

Elliott’s team will also make note of Thompson’s potentially bogus allegations of a domestic assault on July 22, 2016. The NFL has acknowledged that Thompson was not entirely truthful about the events on that day, though the running back will still have to answer for photographic evidence of other potential incidents on that same week.

If Elliott’s suspension stands, he will not see the field until late October.

Ezekiel Elliott is not going down without a fight. The Cowboys running back says he will appeal his six-game suspension. 

[RELATED: NFL Hands Elliott Six-Game Ban]

Elliott’s representatives released the following statement on Friday afternoon:

We just learned of the NFL’s decision to suspend Mr. Elliott for six games for allegedly engaging in ‘physical force’ against the accuser. Mr. Elliott and his team of representatives are extremely disappointed with the NFL’s decision.

Our offices have been engaged in this matter since last July and have worked hand in hand with the Columbus Prosecutor’s office as well as the NFL with their respective investigations. Accordingly, we are fully aware of the full body of evidence that exists in connection with this matter.

The NFL’s findings are replete with factual inaccuracies and erroneous conclusions and it ‘cherry picks’ so called evidence to support its conclusion while ignoring other critical evidence.

For example, both the Columbus Prosecutor’s office as well as the NFL investigators expressly concluded and conveyed to our office (and others) that the accuser was lying about an alleged July 22, 2016 incident whereby she accused Mr. Elliott of pulling her out of her car and assaulting her. An allegation that was ultimately undermined by her own friend’s affidavit which stated that no such assault occurred. The affidavit also outlined the accuser’s plan to orchestrate a story to police to in order to corroborate her false allegation of assault. In addition, the NFL’s own medical experts concluded that many of her injuries predated the week in question and likely occurred during a period of time when Mr. Elliott was not in contact with the accuser. During the upcoming weeks and through the appeal a slew of additional credible and controverting evidence will come to light.

Elliott’s battle may not stop at the league office. The running back is willing to take his appeal through the legal system, if necessary, Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears.

If Elliott does not have the suspension overturned or reduced, he will be out of action until the team’s Week 8 tilt against the Redskins on October 29th.

The NFL has brought the hammer down on Ezekiel Elliott. The Cowboys running back is being suspended for six games, sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Elliott is expected to appeal the decision and he has three business days to do so. The NFL has since confirmed the ban and NFL.com has obtained a copy of the league’s letter to Elliott detailing the decision.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, Elliott will be out of action through Week 7 since the Cowboys have a Week 6 bye. Elliott therefore would not make his regular season debut until Week 8 against the Redskins on October 29th.

On Friday morning, Schefter cautioned that the personal conduct policy could enable the NFL to suspend Elliott for up to six games. It’s a shocking outcome considering the previous belief that Elliott would only be suspended for one or two games, if suspended at all. All throughout the process, Elliott has maintained his innocence and owner Jerry Jones has insisted that no physical violence took place. The league, apparently, does not agree with that assessment.

“I have reviewed everything, and there is absolutely nothing — not one thing — that had anything to do with domestic violence,” Jones said recently.

Meanwhile, NFL investigators determined that Elliott did use physical force against girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. Although there was “conflicting testimonial evidence” with regards to what transpired, the photographs of her injuries left no doubt about whether Elliott struck her, the league says.

If the suspension is upheld, Elliott will lose out on $8.15MM+ in salary guarantees from the 2017 through 2019 seasons. Elliott will also have to repay the Cowboys a portion of his signing bonus, on top of missing out on six game checks. For Elliott, that means giving up nearly $240K per missed game, which comes out to approximately $1.44MM.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: the decision on Ezekiel Elliott isn’t ready today, but it could be coming soon. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports that the ruling could come in as soon as Friday. 

Elliott has been playing the waiting game for roughly one year with the NFL. The league wants to make sure it has covered all of its bases with regards to abuse allegations from last year. Meanwhile, local authorities have passed on pursuing any charges. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been vocal in his support for the running back and insists that the allegations were without merit.

Of course, in the wake of high-profile controversies involving Ray Rice and Greg Hardy, the league is especially sensitive to domestic violence. The NFL is also not happy about other incidents Elliott has been involved in. Elliott found himself in hot water in March when he exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The youngster was also involved in – or at least near – a barroom brawl in Texas earlier this summer.

With Week 1 getting closer and closer, the Cowboys are certainly hoping to get an answer before the week is out. If a July report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter is any indication, they may not be happy with the result. The sense, Schefter said, was that Elliott would be facing a short suspension. It’s also worth noting that report came in days before the aforementioned brawl.