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Whenever a game gets incredibly exciting, sports commentators like to blurt out the phrase, “You can’t write it any better than this”. Well, we might as well apply it to the current ongoing case of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott that seemingly has a never-ending exchange of appeals, motions, and decisions.
In addition, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk did some investigative work himself about a key person involved in the case.
Florio discovered that Judge Katherine Polk Failla, who killed Elliott’s temporary restraining order on Monday, is the husband of one of the partners at a law firm that helped the NFL come out with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Article Continues BelowThe judicial questionnaire signed by Judge Failla in June 2012 includes this statement and commitment: “My husband is a partner at the law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP. I would recuse myself from any cases in which Proskauer Rose is a party or is representing a party.”
Florio clarified that Proskauer Rose is not working the case of Elliott for the NFL, but noted that Bob Batterman was in cahoots with the league as recently as 2016. Batterman is a partner at Proskauer Rose.
Bob Batterman, a/k/a “Lockout Bob” (pictured), became a key (and at times notorious) figure in the months and years leading up to the 2011 work stoppage that resulted in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. He presumably continues to consult with the league, as evidenced by his presence at the 2016 NFL annual meeting.
Whether Failla’s decision making in Elliott’s case is being influenced in any degree by her husband’s affiliation or not, this gives off an unwanted impression of impropriety that clearly could’ve been avoided if the case was handed out to another judge.
