According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in the United States, an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute. Only a fraction of the incidents garner media coverage. National Football League players and other professional athletes are the exceptions.
The latest occurrence garnering widespread media coverage involves a player on arguably the league’s highest profile team. Last Friday, Ezekiel Elliot, a star running back for the Dallas Cowboys, was suspended by the NFL for the first six games of the upcoming regular season for allegedly perpetrating domestic violence last July against his then girlfriend in Columbus, Ohio, consequently violating the league’s personal conduct policy. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old Elliot filed an appeal contesting the severity of the punishment with the goal of having it reduced.
The former Ohio State University standout, who last season as a rookie led the league in rushing with 1,631 yards, was issued a six-page letter signed by the NFL’s B. Todd Jones, whose official title reads Senior Vice President, Special Counsel, Conduct, which equates to being the league’s chief discipline officer.
In part, the letter stated “…Public sources reported that during the week of July 16, 2016, you were allegedly involved in multiple instances of physical violence against (accusers name) …
…At the time, you and (accuser’s name) were in an intimate relationship and spent considerable time together…”
Despite Elliot not being arrested nor criminally charged for the alleged actions, the NFL contends that their own internal investigation yielded sufficient evidence to impose a suspension. In a written statement, the league explained that they consulted a panel of “four external advisors,” which included Mary Jo White, former United States attorney and former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Tonya Lovelace, chief executive officer of The Women of Color Network, Inc. before reaching a decision.
The NFL’s letter to Elliot also outlined another illicit act he is accused of committing. “The League also learned…that on March 11, 2017, while watching a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Dallas, Texas from the balcony of a local restaurant, you pulled down the shirt of a woman, exposing and touching her breast. This incident was captured on video and posted on social media.”
The foundation of Elliot’s appeal will reportedly be the argument that his accuser engaged in a pre-meditated plan to cause severe harm to both his personal and professional life after the embattled running back barred her from attending a gathering to celebrate his 21st birthday. The Star-Telegram of Texas reported the accuser allegedly texted Elliot “that’s (the) worst decision you made in your life. I’m going to ruin your life now.”
Furthermore, the 6-foot, 225-pound native of St. Louis, Missouri purportedly informed the police he is “100 percent certain” the accuser said to him, “You are a black male athlete, I’m a white girl. They are not going to believe you” in reference to the domestic violence claims.
If the facts bear out that Elliot did indeed physically assault his accuser, the six-game suspension, which could cost him $333,000 per game—his base salary of roughly $93,000 per game in addition to $240,000 per game of his $16.35 million signing bonus he would have to reimburse the Cowboys—is warranted. the Cowboys open their regular season at home on September 10 versus the New York Giants.
Regardless of his accuser’s motives, there have been enough cautionary tales involving both athletes and non-athletes, most notably the unfortunate case of former NFL running back Ray Rice, from which Elliot could have drawn. He is seemingly lacking in emotional intelligence and his relative youth is not a justifiable rational. Hopefully, the suspension is a wakeup call for Elliot to refrain from other acts that could result in much harsher outcomes.