If you had Ezekiel Elliott as your starting fantasy league running back heading into the season, it’s time to hit the waiver wire. The star running back’s knucklehead behavior has managed to do something that the entire league could not last year – shut him down!
The NFL has suspended the star Dallas Cowboys running back for six games for violating its personal conduct policy.
Adam Schefter on Twitter
Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliott is being suspended 6 games, per source.
The league has been investigating Elliott for more than a year due to a troubling pattern of what they termed an accumulation of behaviors.
The gifted tailback from Ohio State led the NFL in rushing yards and attempts during his rookie season in 2016. But he was was also piling up some other stats off the field that were less than stellar.
His ex-girlfriend accused him of five incidents of domestic violence over a six-day period in July of 2016, though prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio, declined to press charges because of conflicting and inconsistent information from witnesses.
Elliott was also accused of pushing her against a wall during a February 2016 incident in Florida.
In March, he was filmed pulling down a womans shirt and exposing her breasts at a St. Patricks Day parade in Dallas. The most recent incident took place in July at a Dallas nightclub, where he got into an altercation in which someone suffered a broken nose.
The NFL issued this statement on Friday afternoon announcing the suspension:
Over the course of the last year, the league conducted an extensive investigation. League investigators interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, including Ms. Tiffany Thompson, who had alleged multiple instances of physical violence in July 2016, and Mr. Elliott. The league also consulted with medical experts. League investigators examined all available evidence, including photographic and digital evidence, thousands of text messages and other records of electronic communications.
They also said that “after reviewing the record, and having considered the views of the independent advisors, the commissioner determined that the credible evidence established that Elliott engaged in conduct that violated NFL policy.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported that Dallas Cowboys owner is irate with the decision and the punishment handed down to his star running back.
Adam Schefter on Twitter
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones is said to be furious with NFL decision, per one source. Furious.
