Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was suspended six games by the Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL for violating the personal conduct policy based on domestic violence. The 22 year-old Elliott plans to appeal the six-game suspension, but if it stands and holds, he will miss six games including the season opener against the Giants.
It amazes me that people were upset at the timing of the suspension and why the NFL investigation took over a year after the alleged incident took place the week of July 16, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. So now you are upset that the NFL did their due diligence and crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s before handing out their suspension.
Are you upset that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said “there is just nothing” and “the domestic violence is not an issue.” Well you should be because he was spinning a tale that was just not true according to the NFL obviously. It certainly does not paint the Cowboys owner in the kindest light. Maybe Jones should focus on holding Elliott accountable for his action instead of telling everyone that there was nothing to see here. Instead of enabling Elliott, it is time to treat him like a grown man and hold him accountable.
Are you upset that it was a six game suspension for Elliott? Why was the NFL so harsh to Elliott? Are you going to bring up the examples of Josh Brown, Ray Rice and other missteps by the National Football League in the past. So Commissioner Roger Goodell is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. Maybe just maybe the NFL has learned from all of their mistakes in the past and finally ran a proper investigation and handed out the proper punishment. Is it too difficult to believe that the NFL has learned from their past errors in punishment? Plus, unless you were part of the investigation, you have no idea what the evidence is that the NFL has in order to render their decision.
And when the NFL and four advisors, which included an NFL Hall of Famer and a former attorney General of New Jersey went through all the testimony and the evidence, they “were of the view that there is substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that Elliott engaged in physical violence” multiple times in July 2016. Plus, let’s remember the burden of proof for the NFL is much different than that of law enforcement. Just because chargers were never filed against Elliott in Columbus, Ohio does not mean he did not do anything wrong.
The NFL got it right with Ezekiel Elliott and he deserved to be suspended by the NFL. They are not reaching with this suspension because it does not help the NFL and its most popular team to have one of their best players off of the field for a significant portion of the regular season. This is not a suspension the NFL wanted to do, but they had to do it with the evidence that had for the personal conduct policy. It might be time to trust the NFL and what they are doing.
Elliott is important for the Cowboys and hopefully he cleans up his life away from the football field and realizes the opportunity and responsibility that is in front of him. There can be no more incidents like the one that transpired on St. Patrick’s Day in Dallas when Elliott pulled the top down of a woman. An act the NFL thought was inappropriate and disturbing. Elliott needs to grow up and mature and become a responsible member of our society. The 6-game suspension should serve as a wake-up call. Hopefully it does, but the NFL got it right.
Friday was a good day for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. When was the last time you could say that?
