Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is going to face plenty of questions about his star running back in the coming days, but that doesn’t mean he has to answer them.
While speaking to the media on Tuesday, Jones said he does not want to speculate about any investigation involving Elliott. Jones said in March that he was not anticipating a suspension for Elliott, but he seems less certain now.
“I actually don’t know the status, but I surely don’t want to speculate about any decisions from the league or any potential injury or lack of having a player available,” he said, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “Availability is a key. Ability is a key. But availability is a key, and we really do plan personnel-wise, we plan for a player not being available. That’s just part of our DNA.”
Elliott, of course, is still waiting to respond to the NFL’s findings in his domestic violence case. With that investigation still ongoing, the 21-year-old was reportedly involved in an altercation at a bar late Sunday night, and witnesses claim to have seen him punching a man in the face.
Jones said Elliott and other players need to be more careful in the social media era.
“People who have been in the public eye for years and years are having to rethink about how they are and how they approach the public eye,” he explained. So it’s not just someone that’s recent to the public eye, as you well know, because of his style, personality, it’s like a rock star wherever he goes as far as potential. That anybody that thinks about it but certainly anybody that’s experienced that knows that takes some getting used to to have to learn many aspects of that. So certainly Zeke is evolving and being subject to needing to learn how to deal with the media and social media the way it is today.”
We know how one of Elliott’s teammates feels about people jumping to conclusions, but the NFL could view the former Ohio State star’s off-field incidents as a pattern of irresponsible behavior. A suspension was seen as a possibility before the alleged bar altercation. Now, it almost seems likely.
