Judge Who Ruled Against Ezekiel Elliott Is Married to Partner at Law Firm that Repped NFL in CBA

As the neverending legal saga of when Ezekiel Elliott will be suspended six games by the NFL — and, I continue to think it’s when, not if, because regardless of how much evidence there is, the NFL’s CBA seems to allow Roger Goodell the latitude to wield discipline as he sees fit — an interesting nugget has emerged in the latest development.

On Monday, federal judge Katherine Polk Failla made a ruling that, pending further appeals, Elliott’s suspension would stand. Today, Mike Florio discovered that Failla’s husband, John Failla, is a partner at the law firm, Proskauer Rose LLP, that represented the NFL in the aforementioned collective bargaining agreement that allows Goodell to punish as he pleases.

Now, Failla did not work directly on this assignment — Bob Batterman was the firm’s lawyer who worked with the league — but as Florio notes it is a reasonable question about whether Failla should have recused herself from this case to avoid any appearance of impropriety.