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I Don't Know How to Feel About Ezekiel Elliott's Suspension


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    So let me start off by saying that I am not condoning any sort of physical or mental abuse of anyone, of either sex, at any time, for any reason. It is never OK to do the things that Ezekiel Elliott is being accused of.

    The Dallas Cowboys running back was accused of domestic violence against his former girlfriend in July of 2016. These allegations led to a year-long investigation by the NFL and the Florida police department, which then led to a 6 game suspension for breaking the NFL's personal conduct policy. Elliott has yet to be arrested or charged with a crime and continues to claim he is innocent. Though as everyone knows, the NFL suspending you for domestic abuse is quite a sting to both your life and career, the latter being a bit hit or miss in this industry.

    Elliott is now appealing the case. But honestly.... Why bother? The damage is now done.

    And that is my issue with this whole case. The ex-girlfriend specifically said she was going to, "ruin his career". Though I don't think she will succeed in actually ruining his career, I do think what is happening now is exactly what she meant. Here are some of the glaring issues with the case:

    • No concrete evidence in this case at all.
    • She posted the 'evidence' pictures on her Instagram account....This seems too juvenile for me personally to take serious. Seems (to me) like she just wanted everyone to see and judge.
    • The Columbus City Attorney's office declined charges, stating there was "conflicting and inconsistent information across all incidents".
    • Elliot told the police that she is doing this in spite of her anger for a 'social media incident' and being asked to leave Elliott's apartment.
    • She claimed previous counts of domestic violence, but didn't report them.
    • There is text message proof of Thompson encouraging her friend to lie to police about an alleged domestic abuse case in July. This one is unquestionable. It also tells me all that I need to know about this particular case.

    It's incredibly hard for me to believe someone claiming domestic abuse, when there is evidence that they encouraged someone to lie about a domestic abuse case. And again, this is not me claiming that I know for sure. This is not me saying Elliot should just be let off. This is me saying that it is way, way too easy to hurt someone's career and life with these types of charges. I can't think of a way to fix this issue, but I don't think swapping domestic abuse for this type of abuse is fair.

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    Good points. Also of note, the incidents in question all happened before Elliott even signed with the Cowboys. So that to me is one of the more curious things about this case. If Elliott wasn't found guilty in a court of law, and the accusations in question happened before he officially signed his contract with the league, how can the NFL rightfully suspend him for almost half a season?

    NFLPA appeals Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension

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    joetemple Wrote:

    Good points. Also of note, the incidents in question all happened before Elliott even signed with the Cowboys. So that to me is one of the more curious things about this case. If Elliott wasn't found guilty in a court of law, and the accusations in question happened before he officially signed his contract with the league, how can the NFL rightfully suspend him for almost half a season?

    NFLPA appeals Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension

    I didn't even think about that. It's much more of a threat to Elliott to 'ruin his career' just before he his signed to a team. And on the point you're making, I agree. Looks like the NFL only did this for easy PR points towards their dodgy domestic abuse history.

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    Crazy how this is coming down so close to the wire. The suspension could hold completely, get reduced, be revoked or Elliott and company can drag this through the courts for the whole season.

    If it holds, that means the repeal didn't give them confidence to protest further. This seems the least likely at this point after this came out:

    NFLPA requests order to block any Ezekiel Elliott suspension

    According to the filing, Kia Wright Roberts, the NFL's director of investigations, testified Tuesday that she was the only NFL employee who interviewed the running back's accuser, Tiffany Thompson, during the investigation and that she would not have recommended discipline for Elliott based on what she found.

    There actually is a scenario where it seems plausible they drop the suspension altogether because of that.

    If they don't, and they instead decide to reduce, Elliott might still not take the deal. I wonder.. if he does bring it to the courts, does that mean he still gets to play until it's settled, or is he suspended until it's settled?

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    Six-game suspension of Ezekiel Elliott upheld, but Cowboys RB OK for Week 1

    So the strangest possible situation happened. The suspension was completely upheld. And yet Elliott is battling the ruling in court now. And he also gets to play in at least week 1. Maybe that means he gets to play just one week. Maybe all year and the suspension never comes. Not looking good for the NFL right now on this. Apparently a judge is going to give a further ruling for week 2 on, on Friday.

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    It looks like he will play week 1 then sit for 6. That's my guess anyways. That judge will have to really have solid evidence to uphold a restraining order on the NFL itself. Find out Friday...
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    Judge grants temporary restraining order request for RB Ezekiel Elliott

    Translation: He's probably playing the full season.