NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell today "appointed Harold Henderson to be the arbiter" for Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott's Aug. 29 appeal hearing on his six-game suspension, a source confirmed. Henderson, a former Chair of the NFL's Management Council Exec Committee, "also was the arbiter for the appeal hearings" of Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson (ESPN.com, 8/16).
Meanwhile, the NFL is "blasting the NFLPA for its involvement" in the Elliott case, and the union has "responded with a strongly-worded statement of its own." There have been "negative reports in recent days about the accuser, Tiffany Thompson." The league in a statement today said, "We've received multiple reports of the NFLPA spreading derogatory information to the media about the victim." Less than 90 minutes later, the NFLPA responded, saying, "The public statement issued on behalf of every NFL owner is a lie. The NFLPA categorically denies the accusations made" (NYPOST.com, 8/16).
ESPN’s Field Yates said of the back-and-forth, “It’s going to get very ugly.” ESPN’s Matt Hasselbeck: “It’s an embarrassment for everybody involved” (“NFL Live,” ESPN, 8/16).
