Dallas Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott gestures “eating” as he gives an interview after an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, in Arlington, Texas. AP Photo/Roger Steinman – Under Creative Commons License
According to Hall of Famer and current Fox Sports analyst, Cris Carter, he has heard that there is enough evidence in the NFL’s possession to assess a multi-game suspension to Dallas Cowboys’ running back Ezekiel Elliott. It’s important to note, the league’s policy states that a conduct violation warrants a 6 game suspension, which is 2 more games than what Tom Brady received.
Ezekiel Elliott Suspension Theories
Two years ago a video surfaced of Carter telling incoming players to have a “fall guy”. Then earlier this week, on Monday, that same guy came on air for FS1’s “Undisputed” to say that he would be “shocked” if Elliott is not suspended in the next 48 hours.
And when he was asked by Shannon Sharpe why he felt that way, Carter elaborated that, “…based on the information that’s going to come out, it’s going to be fairly easy to determine that something happened to this woman in her 4 days of being with Zeke…this is just pure, either assault or domestic violence”.
Photos
On July 22nd last year, Ezekiel’s ex-girlfriend posted photos of the bruises across her body, tagging Elliott and encouraging other women to take a stand.
When the pictures surfaced, Michael Irvin said Elliott told him, “I didn’t put my hands on her.”
About a minute into Irvin’s conversation with Rich Eisen, he receives a phone call from Ezekiel, prompting him to end the interview.
Eventually, he jumped back on the air to reiterate that Ezekiel claims “I never touched her”.
Police Reports
In a police report, Elliott claimed the bruises/marks across the woman’s body were from a fight she had with someone else.
The woman says she and Elliott used to live together for about three months; Elliott denies them ever living together. He makes the denial while also admitting he paid for her rent and also co-signed for her car.
Elliott has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, so much so that Cowboys’ team owner, Jerry Jones, has reiterated the same. Before training camp, Jones stated that he believes there’s “not one thing” linking Ezekiel to domestic violence.
Precedent
On “The Undisputed” Carter compared Ezekiel’s looming suspension to that of Tom Brady’s by saying, “When information comes out there’s going to be some similarities…information that….he had been advised possibly, to give up, that was destroyed.”
Jerry Jones’ defense of Ezekiel is reminiscent of Bob Kraft defending Tom Brady, who did receive a suspension. Similar to Brady, information an on-air personality is saying that a suspension is near and expected.
Since Carter’s comments, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reported that Roger Goodell has come on record to say, “We haven’t made any decisions yet”.
The Verdict
Carter’s 48-hour time frame came and went with no suspension. But now 4 days later, the league announced Ezekiel Elliott is in fact suspended for 6 games for violating the personal conduct policy. He will have three days to appeal the suspension, and the hearing must be held with the NFL within 10 days. Without an appeal, Elliott’s suspension would begin on September 2, and he would be eligible to return to the active roster on October 23.
Summary
Now that the NFL’s investigation is complete and Carter’s comments have been aired is 6 games really enough? Cris Carter said, “this is just pure, either assault or domestic violence”, yet he is a free man. The NFL has faced some scrutiny for its handling of these situations, and rightfully so. They should continue to work under the microscope, but one group that continues to skate by is the judicial system.
The NFL’s suspension of a player has become a small consolation prize for women seeking some kind of justice. The public may view the league as improving, but let’s not the owners run the league. How can the NFL improve when the same people are bringing in the same type of players?