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Thursday, December 28, 2017

EZEKIEL ELLIOT NOT REWARDED BY NFL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (NOT RACE, HIS FISTS, RAY RICE)





EZEKIEL ELLIOT NOT REWARDED BY NFL FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (RAY RICE):

IT'S NOT ABOUT HIS RACE, IT'S ABOUT EZEKIEL'S FISTS.

BEATING WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE A RITE OF PASSAGE.

GOD DID NOT CREATE WOMEN TO BE USED AS PUNCHING BAGS.

INSTEAD OF MEN & CHURCHES BLAMING WOMEN FOR "PROVOKING" THEM TO VIOLENCE, GO SEEK SOME THERAPY.


Sources: TMZ Sports, Dallas Morning News, Fox Sports, NY Daily News, USA Today, YouTube



******* Suspension of Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott shows NFL has finally learned from Ray Rice

“I believe you."

It’s such a simple phrase, most often said without much thought of any greater meaning. But for women who are victims of domestic violence, conditioned to think no one will believe them, or that they somehow brought some horror upon themselves, those three little words can be life-changing.

Maybe even life-saving.

Ezekiel Elliott’s six-game suspension, announced Friday by the NFL, has the potential to be transformative, and I’m not referring to the Dallas Cowboys’ Super Bowl hopes. In its letter to Elliott, one of the league’s brightest young stars, the NFL made it clear that it believed the woman who had accused him of domestic abuse.

It didn’t matter that prosecutors had decided not to bring charges, a sadly common occurrence in domestic violence cases. Nor did it matter that Elliott had disputed the allegations, trashing his former girlfriend and her credibility in the process. It didn’t even matter that Jerry Jones, arguably the most powerful owner in the NFL, had tried to use his influence to affect the outcome of the investigation.

After a thorough and extensive investigation, the NFL came to a simple, yet powerful conclusion: It believed her.

“Based on the entire record, the credible evidence establishes that on multiple occasions during the week of July 16, 2016, you used physical force against (the victim) resulting in her injury,” Todd Jones, the NFL’s special counsel for conduct, wrote in the letter explaining Elliott’s suspension.

The impact of the league siding with a domestic violence victim cannot be overstated.

Yes, understanding of domestic violence has grown in the three years since the Ray Rice fiasco, and attitudes toward victims are improving. But there is still much work to do. Too many cases go unreported or unprosecuted because of a lack of evidence or a fear of not being believed. (Funny how no one demands a video of the break-in when a robbery is reported.) Too many people still assume that domestic violence is someone else’s problem, certain it couldn’t happen in their community, in their circle of friends, in their own home.


Too many women still live in terror, for themselves and for their children. Too many women are still dying, an average of three each day.

By doing a thorough investigation — the league consulted with two medical experts about “the causation and aging of certain injuries” and there were over 100 exhibits, including “thousands” of text messages and other electronic communications — the NFL sent a message that domestic violence is to be taken seriously, and that the accused isn’t the only one who deserves the benefit of the doubt.

“They have a commitment to their players, to treat the players fairly and evaluate any evidence against them fairly,” said Kim Gandy, president and CEO of the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

“But they also have taken on a responsibility to their fans and society at large to make sure that the victims are also treated fairly.”

For years, the NFL put women in harm’s way with its decisions and actions on domestic violence — or inactions, as was too often the case. Players busted for DUI or drugs often face harsher consequences.

Even after all of the promises Commissioner Roger Goodell made in the aftermath of the Rice debacle, the NFL suspended New York Giants kicker Josh Brown for all of one game last year — this despite knowing his wife had told police she’d been abused more than 20 times and its own security having to step in at the Pro Bowl after Brown showed up at her hotel room.

But Elliott’s suspension, and the league's commitment to giving his accuser a fair shake, is a positive and welcome change. Nothing in this country commands a bigger spotlight than the NFL, and its decisions have the power to drive conversations and influence opinions.

Maybe the NFL's decision, and its reasoning for it, will give a woman the courage to report her abuse or leave her abuser. Maybe it will make those so quick to blame the victim pause to consider that she might be telling the truth.

“Whenever a sports organization — whether it’s the NFL or Major League Baseball or the NBA — takes serious action backed up by evidence in a domestic violence case, it raises the profile of the issue,” Gandy said.

The NFL told a domestic violence victim it believed her. Why shouldn’t we?



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***** Ezekiel Elliott 'itching to play,' even with Cowboys out of playoff picture


Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott -- who returned from a six-game domestic violence suspension last Sunday -- said that the Cowboys' clash with the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday matters, even with Dallas out of the playoff picture.

"I only played nine games this season; I'm itching to play football," Elliott told reporters Wednesday, via The Dallas Morning News. "I don't care if we're playing for nothing, I'm playing for something.

"I'm playing for myself, we're playing for each other, and so I'm excited to go out and play Sunday. I'm not going to have any problem waking up Sunday morning, getting ready to play. You don't have to worry about that from me or from anyone on this team."

Through the nine games Elliott has played, he's racked up 880 yards and is within range of surpassing the 1,000-yard plateau on Sunday.

"If it happens, it happens," Elliott said. "It's not like you can go out there and force that, but it definitely would be nice."

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******* Report: Ezekiel Elliott involved in earlier altercation with domestic violence accuser


Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was allegedly involved in a February altercation with the same woman who has previously accused him of domestic violence, according to a report from USA Today, with the incident reportedly resulting in police being called to the scene:

The woman who accused Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott of abusing her for five days in July also called police on him months before the NFL Draft, alleging she suffered left shoulder pain from the force of Elliott pushing her up against a wall during an argument that turned physical.

An incident report obtained Friday by USA TODAY Sports from the Aventura (Fla.) Police Department said there were no visible signs of injury and that the accuser declined to go to the hospital after police responded to a call about an altercation at Elliott’s apartment Feb. 12.

Article continues below ...Elliott reportedly was not placed under arrest for the alleged altercation.

The Cowboys running back was interviewed by the NFL last month regarding domestic violence allegations from the same accuser this past summer.

No charges were brought at that time. Prosecutors stated the lack of charges were “primarily due to conflicting and inconsistent information across all the incidents resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges.”

Elliott’s alleged ex-girlfriend told police in July that Elliott assaulted her while they sat in a parked car and that she has had pain in her wrist but declined medical treatment.

Elliott, who has maintained his innocence, told authorities at the time that he never touched Thompson in “a harmful manner.” He claimed Thompson suffered the bruises in a bar fight.

Earlier this week and prior to this new report, Elliott's attorney, Frank Salzano, released a statement defending his client (via USA Today):

“For the past several days the media has elected to focus on allegations of domestic violence involving Mr. Elliott despite the Columbus, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office decision not to charge Mr. Elliott nearly two months ago.

As previously reported, the prosecutor's office conducted a thorough seven-week investigation whereby in their own words they “dotted every I and crossed every T” and concluded there was no credible evidence to file any charges against Mr. Elliott.

My office provided a mountain of exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Elliott's innocence and directly contradicting all of the false allegations contained in the Accuser’s two police reports as first reported on July 22, 2016.

“Yet the media has chosen to deflect the recent negative press regarding the NFL's reported mishandling of several domestic violence matters by focusing on the NFL's prolonged investigation of Mr. Elliott.

The NFL’s interview of Mr. Elliott was conducted over four weeks ago and went unreported at the time as it was then, and still remains a non-story.

It is league protocol to conduct a separate investigation whenever there are allegations of domestic violence by one of its players.

“We firmly believe that the NFL should promptly close its investigation which is only open because of their apprehensiveness stemming from the recent scrutiny it has come under for its handling of other domestic violence matters.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, we remain firm that the NFL will clear Mr. Elliott of any wrongdoing and this matter can be finally put to rest.”

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