Ezekiel Elliott's Path To Federal Court: A Timeline

The NFL has succeeded in making the game of football the most watched sport in the country for decades. As their success skyrockets so do the players on the field and the attention they garner. Every year, for months the NFL and its players control the headlines with stories leading up to the draft, player injuries, game analysis, and off the field issues. In recent years, the attention has been less than welcomed by the league as they’ve received attention for the absolute wrong reason, allowing players to play on the field when their conduct off it warranted discipline.

One of the most recent and biggest examples of this was the domestic violence case against Ray Rice. The public accused the league of covering up what happened and blaming the victim for what a player did, all in the hopes to sweep the claim under the rug and allow the running back to play. Many viewed this as a slap in the face by the league that football was more important than women.

Since that case, videos have surfaced showing Ray Rice punching and then dragging his unconscious fiancé’, now wife, out of an elevator. After the video, the public demanded answers and change to the league’s policy regarding domestic violence.

Although the Ray Rice video may have become the most public display of violence women receive at the hands of players, he would not be the first or last player to face charges. Not long after Ray Rice was banished from the league, Greg Hardy was going through his own legal issues when his ex-girlfriend filed charges against him for abuse. She claims he threw her against the wall and even on a couch full of guns/rifles.

Hardy, of course, denied this and and that night, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend was so scared she didn’t even want to come forward to police, but another brave woman who was part of their party stepped up and told the cops what happened, even when Hardy’s acquaintance told her not to say anything. But when she encouraged the victim to speak up and the cops saw the visible bruises on her body, Hardy would be arrested. He was even convicted, but appealed, and instead of going through the entire ordeal once again in court, the victim chose not to testify.

With having to fight against so much just to be heard, sometimes these women feel that it’s better to not come forward. Ultimately, with the media attention this case garnered, Hardy’s ex-girlfriend decided to walk away from the court case and put it all behind her. So while she chose to leave it all behind, it ultimately allowed Hardy to join the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 and demand another contract without facing what happened that dreadful night in question.  

Now another Cowboy faces a similar claim of domestic violence.

In Florida, Feb 12, 2016 a 911 call was made to report a woman’s domestic violence claim against her boyfriend, Ezekiel Elliott. The police state that there were no signs of injury, although Elliott admitted to pushing her because she was trying to stop him from locking himself in his room.

Elliott was in Florida at the time training for the draft and said the reason for the altercation was due to a fight they had over a social media post. As a result, he told her to go back to Ohio. News of the accusations did not make headlines, and business went on as usual.

With the #4 pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected Ezekiel Elliott to join their team on April 28, 2016. Many were excited about the pick, even those outside the organization, and ready to see what the young back could on the field. Expectations were high as the Cowboys have seen great performances from their backs such as Emmitt Smith, and the man Ezekiel was drafted to replace, DeMarco Murray.

With success as a college star, and even helping to lead his team to a national title against Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, all eyes were on Elliott and the Dallas star never shined brighter.

After the first claim of abuse went unnoticed and no charges were filed, Elliott’s ex-girlfriend reported being abused several times over the course of five days from July 17-July 22 in Ohio. Again, she filed a report, and again nothing came of it until she posted images of her bruises online, tagging Elliott in the process, along with a messaging urging victims of domestic violence to get out of those type of relationships. Her post was quickly removed and account turned to private, but given the posting was briefly available for the public, it started a conversation.

Later that day, on the Rich Eisen Show, Michael Irvin spoke about the incident regarding Elliott. During his on-air call, Irvin received a phone call from Ezekiel and went off the air to answer it. Once back on the air, Irvin reiterated that Elliott claims to have not touched her and that his team is looking for video evidence of the bar fight between his ex-girlfriend and another woman.

In her police report, Elliott’s ex, cited that they lived together for 3 months, and he had hit her multiple times during the past week.

Elliott said the two of them never lived together, he never hit her, and that her bruises were from a fight she was involved in with another woman at a bar. He then admitted that he did pay for her rent and co-signed for the lease of her car, but they weren’t together.

In their text exchange, he writes “U are my gf” and “I’m just reluctant to say it.”

Later, the NFL’s investigation found eye witnesses to the bar fight between the two women and witnesses said it was nothing more than hair pulling, which would not have caused the bruises on the victim’s body.

In Columbus, Ohio where Elliot made his mark in the eyes of football fans everywhere, the prosecutor chose to not press charges. The reason behind their decision was noted in a press release, published by the Dallas Morning News, as “due to conflicting and inconsistent information” that they have “concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges”.

After the announcement to not pursue charges, Elliott’s playing days were still in jeopardy pending the NFL’s investigation regarding their personal conduct policy.

News of Elliot being accused by the same woman in February of that same year, in Florida, prompted many to ask if this incident was taken into consideration or looked into. The Ohio office reported that they did not know about it, although the victim alluded to prior instances of abuse in her interview with them.

While celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in a parade in front of hundreds of people, Ezekiel Elliott chose to celebrate the occasion by pulling down a young female’s top and exposing her breast to the crowd. The woman quickly covered herself up and even slapped Elliott’s hand as he attempted to remove her clothing a second time. After the backlash, Elliot’s reps stated that the woman was fine with it and not upset even though in the video she clearly did not want him to do it the first time and prevented him from doing it a second.

Later as part of its investigation, the league asked Elliott about the incident and he claimed his behavior was acceptable because he had sex with the woman later that day. It’s hard to imagine, but if someone does something questionable in public, one can only fathom what they’ll do when no one’s watching.

Just a few months after St. Patrick’s Day, reports surfaced that Elliott was involved in a bar fight with a man, and injured him, forcing him to be taken to the hospital. There is video of the aftermath of the altercation where the man is lying on the ground, but no video has been released from the club’s facility showing what happened. Witnesses have said that it was Ezekiel that punched the victim after the man got into an altercation with a woman part of Elliott’s party, but the victim was too intoxicated to remember who had struck him and no arrest was made.

The Police suspended their investigation, as did the NFL, as there wasn’t enough information to continue.

On FS1’s “The Undisputed” Hall of Fame wide receiver, Cris Carter, went on-air to discuss the latest development he’s heard regarding the NFL’s investigation into Ezekiel Elliott. Per Carter’s information, the NFL was planning on announcing a multi-game suspension against the running back, that he believe would be in range with the 4 game suspension Tom Brady received or up to 6 games, the new number per the CBA agreement. Carter went on to say that he believed the announcement would be made within 48 hours because “it’s going to be fairly easy to determine that something happened to this woman in her four days of being with Zeke”.

Four days after Carter’s claims, the NFL announced that Dallas’ star running back would be suspended for six games. Later that day, Elliott officially made his thoughts known by releasing a statement on social media in which he stated he was “surprised and disappointed” in the league’s decision. He further stated that he planned to “continue to work very hard, on and off the field, to mature and earn the great opportunity that I have been given.”

His mention of his continued effort to work hard and mature was made after the domestic violence accusations, the release of abusive photos, and video evidence of him pulling down a woman’s top in public.

To officially oppose the NFL’s suspension against him, he appealed, putting the league on a deadline to announce their decision whether they would uphold the suspension, reduce it, or even completely vacate it. The appeal was expected because it gives the player hope at a possible reduction in games not played and depending on how long an appeal decision takes, the suspension can even be postponed until a decision is made.

The league office appointed Harold Henderson to oversee the appeals process in order to facilitate a more democratic process, for which they’ve been criticized for in the past as the commissioner would both rule initial decisions and then head appeal decisions.

The day after the appeal, and after reports that the NFLPA would target Elliott’s ex-girlfriend for her comments to “ruin” him, the league released a statement accusing the NFLPA of victim blaming. Per the league, “it’s a common tactic to prove the innocence of the accused by discrediting the victim”.

The NFLPA then issued their own statement to counterattack the league and called them hypocrites for their “history of being exposed” regarding credibility.

A week after appealing his ban, and almost two weeks after announcing to work on maturing and apologizing for being a distraction to his teammates, fans, and loved ones Elliott was spotted partying on a yacht. While some would venture to stay out of the spotlight, Elliott chose the other route.

Although nothing illegal was reported during the party or on the boat, the Coast Guard did search it for about twenty minutes and instead of appearing to improve his image, the running back again made headlines for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, this time there was no recourse to be handed out

Before a ruling on his appeal could even be reached, Elliott sued the league claiming that the NFL’s investigation was an “egregious violation” of due process. As an example of the suit’s claims, Elliot’s reps claim that the arbitrator’s decision to not allow Elliot’s ex-girlfriend to testify was unfair and ultimately a right that Elliott should have been granted. The suit went on to say that facts did not support the claims made against the running back and his suspension was the result of a conspiracy by the league. By appealing in court, Elliott attempts to void his suspension entirely by blocking whatever ruling the league reaches.

The countersuit is the league’s attempt to have their ruling upheld. Unlike Elliott, who filed in Texas, the league made its counterclaim in the state of New York. Similar to its case against Tom Brady last season, the NFL ultimately won, and Brady was forced to serve his 4 game suspension.

In their filing, the league cites their victory over Brady as a basis for their right to uphold Elliott’s suspension. If history repeats, the outcome does not look good for Elliott, who is being represented by the same lawyer who represented Brady in his losing effort. Until the court rules, Elliott will be permitted to play.

Even though lawsuits and countersuits were filed, the NFL still needed to officially make a decision on Elliot’s league appeal of his ban. As expected, the 6 game ban was upheld fully but has no effect on Dallas’ game plan as they prepare to face the Giants on Sept. 10^th.

Even Cowboys’ coach Jason Garrett has publicly said that the team will plan as if Ezekiel will play, because as of yet they have not been made aware of any reason why he wouldn’t be allowed to suit up. The Cowboys will await the court’s decision just like the public, and based on Brady’s court case which took about a year from his initial court filing before being appealed and finalized, we may not have a decision regarding this for a while.

On Friday, A U.S. District Court judge granted the NFL Players Association's preliminary injunction request on the behalf of Ezekiel Elliott, meaning the Dallas Cowboys running back's suspension was on hold.

In his decision, Judge Amos Mazzant III agreed with the NFL union that Zeke didn't receive a fair appeal hearing.

"The question before the Court is merely whether Elliott received a fundamentally fair hearing before the arbitrator. The answer is he did not," Mazzant wrote in his ruling Friday. "The Court finds, based upon the injunction standard, that Elliott was denied a fundamentally fair hearing by Henderson's refusal to allow Thompson and Goodell to testify at the arbitration hearing.”

However, the NFL didn’t agree with the judge’s decision and voiced their frustration shortly after the announcement was made Friday afternoon:

"We strongly believe that the investigation and evidence supported the commissioner's decision and that the process was meticulous and fair throughout," the league spokesman said in a statement. "We will review the decision in greater detail and discuss next steps with counsel, both in the district court and federal court of appeals."

As for Elliott’s side, his spokesperson said they are very happy with the outcome. "We are very pleased that Mr. Elliott will finally be given the opportunity to have an impartial decision-maker carefully examine the NFL's misconduct," Elliott's attorneys said in a statement Friday night. "This is just the beginning of the unveiling of the NFL's mishandling as it relates to Mr. Elliott's suspension.”

While the most high profile case against the NFL took a year to come to a resolution, it was due to a lack of precedent. Now that the Brady case is in the books, and groundwork has been laid, Elliott’s suspension hearing should not take as long. The only thing standing in the way of a decision will be the length of time the court system takes to hear this case, and possibly an appeal.

Throughout the course of the investigation, two former NFL stars, both Hall of Fame players, stood on opposing sides of the Elliott accusation. As would be expected, the former Cowboys’ great, Michael Irvin, sided with Elliott and believed as he stated on the Rich Eisen Show, the day pictures were posted online, that “they’re breaking up and it’s a bad breakup.”

This was stated after Irvin spoke to Elliott multiple times regarding matter. Cris Carter, on the other hand, didn’t speak to Elliott personally; instead, he looked at the given information and came to a conclusion. As he stated on FS1’s Undisputed that, “it’s going to be fairly easy to determine that something happened to this woman in her four days of being with Zeke.”