# Ezekiel Elliott Suspension **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 16, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794 "2017-08-16T14:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/1 "2017-08-16T14:11:16Z")
See: [http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article167069572.html](http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article167069572.html) There may of course be facts to emerge, and the NFL claims to have documented “photo and digital evidence” that Elliott abused the woman on multiple occasions. OTOH The instances of abuse that the NFL claims to have substantiated are not the ones reported by this woman. The woman reported a different instance of abuse, which seems to have been fabricated, and which also followed a threat (in several text messages) to ruin his life and/or career if he broke off a relationship with her. If she had genuine instances of abuse, it’s hard to understand why she would need to fabricate a completely different instance. Again, there may be more to come. But I suspect that the NFL is overreacting due to criticism of their response to earlier incidents. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/2 "2017-08-16T14:15:34Z")
Shouldn’t the NFL turn over any photo or digital evidence to the police? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/3 "2017-08-16T14:17:02Z")
Presumably they all have the same evidence. But the police only bring charges if the DA thinks he can prove them in court. The NFL has a much lower standard of proof. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/4 "2017-08-16T16:26:46Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Shouldn’t the NFL turn over any photo or digital evidence to the police? The legal system won’t work if the victim refused to cooperate. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/5 "2017-08-16T18:13:46Z")
If the NFL takes a hard stance on domestic abuse, applies punishment consistently and proportionately, and this is just the first indication of more to come then that’ll go a long way toward improving its image. If Elliot is a one-time thing and a sacrificial lamb to throw a bone to critics then screw Goodell. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/6 "2017-08-16T18:29:27Z")
More: [Documents: Ezekiel Elliott's accuser admitted to talk of leveraging sex videos of herself and RB for money](https://sports.yahoo.com/documents-ezekiel-elliotts-accuser-admitted-talk-leveraging-sex-videos-rb-money-120034705.html) ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/7 "2017-08-16T19:05:05Z")
I wish that sports commissioners would stay out of off the field issues that are related to criminal issues. There is a legal system that is more than capable of handling those. The NFL, or any sports organization, should only punish players for actions that occur on the field. The legal system doesn’t care if a player writes political messages on his cleats, taunts opponents after scores, or talks shit about the NFL and/or their team during an interview. That’s where the commissioner should step in. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/8 "2017-08-16T19:24:37Z")
I don’t agree. Firstly, the legal system won’t do anything about people who are probably guilty but just not guilty beyond reasonable doubt. But there’s no reason the NFL needs to employ such people. But secondly, the NFL is in the entertainment business. If you’ve done something that ruins the NFL’s entertainment value in the eyes of the customers and potential customers, then they’re perfectly justified in sacking you regardless of whether you’re legally innocent or guilty. That said, in this case in particular it looks like they might be afraid of their shadow and be overdoing it. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/9 "2017-08-16T19:38:51Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I don’t agree. > > Firstly, the legal system won’t do anything about people who are probably guilty but just not guilty beyond reasonable doubt. But there’s no reason the NFL needs to employ such people. > > But secondly, the NFL is in the entertainment business. If you’ve done something that ruins the NFL’s entertainment value in the eyes of the customers and potential customers, then they’re perfectly justified in sacking you regardless of whether you’re legally innocent or guilty. > > That said, in this case in particular it looks like they might be afraid of their shadow and be overdoing it. You’re right, the NFL is in the entertainment business. I want to see the finest football players on the field. Cowboys games got great ratings last season and Elliot was a major reason. I want to watch him, not some backup. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/10 "2017-08-16T19:51:48Z")
Maybe that’s you, but there are many people who don’t want to see domestic abusers on the field. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/11 "2017-08-16T20:18:57Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > You’re right, the NFL is in the entertainment business. I want to see the finest football players on the field. Cowboys games got great ratings last season and Elliot was a major reason. I want to watch him, not some backup. Let us say, for example, that a perennial All-Pro player, a shoo-in for Canton, is accused of first-degree murder (and, for purposes of this hypothetical, let’s add to the horror value – the victim was a child). The player doesn’t deny it, and there is fairly damning video evidence, and eyewitnesses. However, he does demand to have the case go to trial (let’s say that he enters a plea of “not guilty by reason of mental defect”). The judge sets a high bail, but he’s able to easily post it. He surrenders his passport, but there’s no legal reason why he couldn’t play while he awaits trial. Would you still be saying, “It didn’t happen on the football field, he hasn’t been convicted, the NFL should stay out of it and let the court handle it, let him play”? I’m just curious. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/12 "2017-08-17T19:08:13Z")
The NFL should stay out of it, but in a case like that, it is most likely that the coach of the team can make a decision that the player will be too distracted with the upcoming trail and media circus. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2017, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/13 "2017-08-17T20:58:03Z")
The NFL has done the math and figured out that getting bad publicity and protests hurts their pockets, more than a few suspensions. The more people who think that the NFL is a league of millionaire thugs and wife-beaters, the fewer people willing to vote the owners 250M in public money to build the owner a new stadium full of 100k/game luxury suites. And the eyeballs lost from TV by pissed-off folks hurts a bunch as well. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/14 "2017-08-18T13:30:45Z")
I am a harsh critic of the NFL’s authoritarian approach towards its work force but it feels hypocritical to applaud other businesses terminating the employment of those who call unwanted negative attention to them while at the same time criticizing the awful NFL owners for doing the same. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/15 "2017-08-18T17:01:57Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Maybe that’s you, but there are many people who don’t want to see domestic abusers on the field. Especially advertisers. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/16 "2017-09-01T17:26:56Z")
Bumping this up because Elliot has now sued: [https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ezekiel-elliott-sues-the-nfl-claims-a-conspiracy-to-hide-critical-information/](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ezekiel-elliott-sues-the-nfl-claims-a-conspiracy-to-hide-critical-information/) Basically, the NFL’s own investigator thought there wasn’t enough evidence to suspend him, Goodell was aware of this, and suspended him anyway. Whether or not you think he did it and whether or not you think it’s the NFL’s job to police this, it definitely seems like they were planning to make an example of him no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/17 "2017-09-01T19:02:23Z")
The suspension was a statement to the fans and advertisers, nothing more. Ultimately I doubt Goodell really cares that much if they lose at this point, as long as they look like they tried to bring the hammer from a PR perspective, but were forced by matters out of their hands to drop it. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/18 "2017-09-01T20:34:42Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Basically, the NFL’s own investigator thought there wasn’t enough evidence to suspend him, Goodell was aware of this, and suspended him anyway. Why were Kia Roberts’ report and conclusions suppressed? I’m all for hearings and investigations and punishing bad behaviors, but it’s supposed to be fair, right? Suppressing exculpatory evidence seems more like kangaroo court. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/19 "2017-10-17T23:59:48Z")
This insanity never ends, Ezekiel Elliot has been given a temporary restraining order and can play this week. The NFL doesn’t know what a catch is, doesn’t know what a fumble is, and they waste their time on stupid excessive suspensions and trying to make the law review. This stupid back and forth legal battle is why the NFL needs to quit trying to be a law enforcement agency. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2017, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ezekiel-elliott-suspension/793794/20 "2017-10-18T00:05:24Z")
New show this fall… _ **NFLPD** _ They tackle the hard cases!