It has been more than two weeks since the NFL announced that Ezekiel Elliott is suspended for the first six games of the 2017 season, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has apparently not cooled off much during that span.
Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted over the weekend that Jones continues to feel “blindsided” by the league’s decision. The Cowboys are planning to send legal counsel to Elliott’s appeal hearing on Tuesday, but Jones will not be in attendance.
Jones, who said numerous times that there was no domestic violence involved in the NFL’s investigation into Elliott’s conduct, is not willing to make any predictions about the hearing.
“Well, I don’t want to speculate about that at all,” he said. “I wouldn’t do ‘a what if’ on that. I’m afraid it would have some kind of meaning and I’ve been reluctant to comment anyway.”
The NFL’s investigation said it uncovered “substantial credible evidence” that Elliott was guilty of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, which was surprising after some of the confident statements Jones made about the case. Given how angry he supposedly was at the decision, all indications are that Jones actually believed Elliott was off the hook.
It seems unlikely that Elliott’s suspension will be reduced or overturned with how strongly-worded the explanation for the ban was. The NFL has already mishandled numerous domestic violences cases and does not want to be accused of letting it happen again.
