NFL

3:01 PM PT -- An NFL spokesman provided TMZ Sports the following statement ...

"Earlier today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the preliminary injunction that prohibited the league from imposing the six-game suspension issued to Ezekiel Elliott for a violation of the Personal Conduct Policy. The Court also directed the district court to dismiss the union’s lawsuit which was filed on Elliott’s behalf."

"As a result, Elliott’s suspension will begin effective immediately. Elliott is eligible to return to the team on Friday, November 24 following the Cowboys' Thursday, November 23 game against the Los Angeles Chargers."

2:56 PM PT -- Elliott's agent Frank Salzano tells us, “We are currently exploring all of our legal options and will make a decision as to what is the best course of action in the next few days. Until that time we have no further comment on the 5th circuit’s decision.”

Bad news for the Dallas Cowboys ... a federal appeals court has ruled Ezekiel Elliott's 6-game suspension is back on.

A federal appeals court made a ruling today ... essentially throwing out a lower court's ruling that allowed Zeke to play.

So, what does it all mean?

For now, the NFL's initial domestic violence punishment stands -- and the league has been cleared to enforce the 6-game suspension.

The Cowboys happen to be on a bye week -- which gives Zeke's team some time to counterpunch and fight the ruling.

The NFL had initially moved to suspend Zeke after a private investigation found he physically abused his girlfriend on multiple occasions.

Important to note, Elliott was never prosecuted for the incidents -- and he maintains his innocence.

But due to the collective bargaining agreement, the NFL believes it doesn't need a conviction to punish a player.

There's USC bias ... and then there's keeping it real.

Ex-Trojans WR Steve Smith went with the latter when we asked about Sam Darnold's Heisman chances.

Smith was a BEAST at SC back in the day -- he famously caught 3 TDs from Matt Leinart in the 2005 BCS National Championship game (a victory that was later vacated).

So, we had to ask about the current State of Troy ... and even though he ruled out a Heisman for Sam Darnold, Smith still thinks the QB will be a stud in the NFL.

Remember, Steve won a Super Bowl with the NY Giants back in 2008 -- and makes it clear he would LOVE to see Sam play for the G-Men.

O.T. Genasis doesn't like that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is threatening to bench players who kneel during the national anthem.

"If he do that, then F*CK Jerry Jones!"

The "I'm In Love with the Coco" rapper made it clear he wasn't a Cowboys fan to begin with -- he's more of a Broncos guy -- but still, he's 100% against Jerry Jones and Donald Trump when it comes to the protest.

If the NFL would have hit Colin Kaepernick with a meaningful suspension every time he took a knee last season, it would have killed the protest dead in its tracks ... so says Donald Trump.

The President of the United States sat down with Sean Hannity and spoke about the biggest issue in pro sports -- the national anthem demonstrations.

"Frankly the NFL should have suspended him for 1 game and he would have never done it again," Trump said.

POTUS suggested a stronger punishment if Kaep would have kneeled a 2nd time and a season-long suspension for a 3rd kneel.

If the NFL made an example of Kaep, Trump says "you would never of had a problem."

Adrian Peterson is giving all glory to God when it comes to his trade to Arizona -- saying Jesus came through for him when he was stuck on the Saints bench.

AP recounted his Hail Mary for a starting RB gig after Cardinals practice today -- "Hey, God, I need you to answer this prayer for me. You listening to me?"

And later, once he found out about the deal -- "Thank you, Jesus. He answers prayers."

NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon is pretty upset about Team USA getting bounced from the World Cup -- telling TMZ Sports it's "disturbing" considering all of the athletic resources we have.

For the record, Moon is pretty well-versed in the world of international soccer ... and told us what Team USA soccer needs to do if we REALLY want to compete with the top countries in the world.

By the way, Moon also calls BS on the excuse that our top athletes are playing other sports like football and basketball instead of soccer.

The NFL says Donald Trump is WRONG by tweeting that Commish Roger Goodell is forcing players to stand for the national anthem ... claiming POTUS completely misunderstood Goodell's message.

FYI, Goodell had sent a letter to NFL owners this week saying league officials "believe that everyone should stand" for the anthem -- but said nothing about implementing a rule about it.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning when Trump tweeted, "It is about time that Roger Goodell of the NFL is finally demanding that all players STAND for our great National Anthem-RESPECT OUR COUNTRY."

But the NFL says Trump is off base -- issuing a new statement in response to the President's tweet.

"Commentary this morning about the Commissioner's position on the Anthem is not accurate," the league said, specifically referencing Trump.

"As we said yesterday, there will be a discussion of these issues at the owners meeting next week. The NFL is doing the hard work of trying to move from protests to progress, working to bring people together."

Bears legend Mike Singletary is ALL ABOUT Mitch Trubisky ... but warns Chicago fans that things ain't gonna change overnight.

We spoke with Singletary after Mitch-a-palooza on Monday Night Football ... and the Hall of Famer told us he was genuinely impressed with the #2 overall pick.

But the bottom line for Mike ... the Bears need to let Mitch "be what he is, a rookie," which essentially means it's a growing and learning season -- not a Super Bowl contender season.

"I definitely think there’s a lot to work with."

The NAACP is furious with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones -- claiming his comments about sitting players who "disrespect the flag" are tone-deaf and misinformed.

Tony Covington -- a former NFL safety who's now an exec with the NAACP -- issued a statement on behalf of the organization blasting Jones.

"Jerry Jones’ comments are more than tone-deaf, more than misinformed and misguided -- they are a public commitment by an NFL owner to violate his players’ Constitutional right to free speech -- one of the principles on which our nation was founded."

Covington continued ... "They are proof that athletes like Colin Kaepernick who have quietly and peacefully used their platform to protest violence against communities of color do so at their own peril."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People says it has reached out to NFL commish Roger Goodell for a private meeting "in order to determine how he can best protect his players."

Anthony Scaramucci says the NY Giants are an absolute dumpster fire -- but they're still probably gonna beat the crappy Browns.

Mooch was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood -- and since he's such a proud New Yorker and NFL fan, we asked how he felt about losing Odell Beckham Jr. for the season.

"I'm more disappointed about the 0-5 record -- it's been a disaster. They're done now," Scaramucci told TMZ Sports.

9:59 AM PT -- Baylor has now issued a statement in the wake of Gordon's comments saying:

"Josh Gordon was a football student-athlete from 2009 until 2011 at which time he was suspended indefinitely and ultimately left the program."

"None of the football staff from this timeframe are currently employed by Baylor. As such, we decline to comment further."

Suspended Cleveland Browns star Josh Gordon says a Baylor football coach helped him beat the drug testing system in college ... revealing he was given bottles of detox to clean his system.

Gordon opened up about his serious drug issues for the first time in a mini-documentary for "Uninterrupted" on Tuesday ... saying he's had experiences with Xanax, cocaine, weed and codeine.

The 26-year-old -- who had completed 70 days of his most recent rehab stint at the time the doc was filmed -- says he was taught how to pass drug tests after getting suspended for weed in 2010.

"That was my first experience with, like, getting over on the system and the authority not really being serious because it was kind of being guided by someone who was employed by the university."

Gordon says he eventually failed another drug test in 2011 after he ran out of detox drinks.

There's a lot more to the 13-minute doc ... Gordon talks about taking rehab seriously this time, his 2-year-old daughter, and his relationship with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

One of Jemele Hill's ESPN colleagues says she's sick and tired of Donald Trump's attacks on the "SportsCenter" host ... and is publicly calling for POTUS to back off.

Josina Anderson -- an NFL sideline reporter/insider -- tweeted, "Stop attacking our colleague Jemele Hill, any other journalists or media entities. We are doing our work."

Trump had previously tweeted that Hill was responsible for "tanking" ratings on the sports network -- this after she was hit with a 2-week suspension for comments about Jerry Jones.

Josina and Jemele are pretty tight off the air -- and it's clear Josina is upset with how things are going down.

FYI, Lindsay Czarniak‏ -- who also works at ESPN -- voiced her feelings about Hill's suspension on Monday saying, "The suspension of my friend @jemelehill is sad and disappointing on a number of levels."

Common believes Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is exhibiting a "slave owner mentality" by saying he'd bench any player who "disrespects the flag" ... making HIM the unpatriotic one.

"It’s an owner mentality," Common tells TMZ Sports ... "like a slave owner mentality, to be honest. Like, 'You gonna do what I say on this.'"

"Other people choosing to put their hands over their heart. What makes that gesture better than somebody else who might be praying during the national anthem?"

Al Sharpton says he's ready to call for a boycott over ESPN's suspension of Jemele Hill -- telling TMZ Sports, "We will not stand for her to be suspended."

Sharpton says it's "outrageous" for ESPN to bench Hill for her tweets about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones -- since she was merely trying to instruct fans upset with JJ's comments on how they could be heard.

As we previously reported, Jones said he would bench any player who disrespected the flag. Hill tweeted, to concerned fans -- "If you strongly reject what Jerry Jones said, the key is his advertisers."

ESPN suspended Hill for 2 weeks claiming she violated the network's social media policy.

ESPN has suspended "SportsCenter" anchor Jemele Hill for 2 weeks -- after she "violated social media guidelines" by encouraging people upset with Jerry Jones to boycott his sponsors.

Hill was reacting to the Dallas Cowboys owners' statement that any players who "disrespect the flag" will not play for his team.

"If you strongly reject what Jerry Jones said, the key is his advertisers. Don't place the burden squarely on the players," Hill tweeted.

There were more tweets -- each with the same sentiment.

ESPN clearly feels Hill crossed the line and hit her with a 2-week suspension.

"Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for a second violation of our social media guidelines," ESPN says.

"She previously acknowledged letting her colleagues and company down with an impulsive tweet. In the aftermath, all employees were reminded of how individual tweets may reflect negatively on ESPN and that such actions would have consequences. Hence this decision."

The Raiders fan who got into it with Donald Penn after Sunday's game claims the NFL star is lying through his teeth -- saying it was Penn who first threatened violence ... and he's got the proof.

TMZ Sports spoke with 27-year-old Sal Chavarria ... who says he only waited for Penn after the game because Penn challenged him to a face-to-face confrontation after some Instagram smacktalk earlier in the season.

Sal admits he was heavily critical of Penn's play on social media -- and was shocked when Penn hit him up in his DM to insult him and challenged him to "say it to my face."

Sal says he did NOT throw a water bottle at Penn during Sunday's encounter, as Penn has alleged -- and claims he has several witnesses to back him up ... including security personnel.

As for Penn's claims that Sal was trying instigate a physical assault in order to shake Penn down for money, Sal says that's BS too ... he doesn't want a cent from the NFL star.

The good news ... Sal says he's such a big Raiders fan, he's open to burying the hatchet with Penn -- if the Raiders ask him to.