Ezekiel Elliott is appealing the 6-game suspension Roger Goodell and the NFL handed down last week. Given the arbitrary nature with which the NFL seems to handle its invesitagtions and subsequent punishments for things like this, there’s alredy a good chance Elliott’s suspension will be reduced.
But a new report from Yahoo Sports might make that reduction of time served even more likely. The site published a report on Wednesday that said Elliott’s accuser admitted to discussing blackmailing the Dallas Cowboys running back for money.
The exchange is contained in the 160-page report prepared by NFL investigators into allegations that Elliott committed multiple acts of violence against ex-girlfriend Tiffany Thompson. Within that report, investigators noted a September 2016 text message exchange between Thompson and a friend, in which Thompson raised the idea of selling sex videos of herself and Elliott. During the conversation, Thompson’s friend suggested, “we could black mail him w[ith] that,” to which Thompson responded, “I want to bro.” The NFL’s report also stated that Thompson admitted registering an email address titled “ezekielelliott sex vids” in August 2016.
The texts and email registration don’t disprove the domestic violence allegations Thompson has made against Elliott, nor do they address the central issue of whether violence occurred. Furthermore, the league indicated physical and circumstantial evidence – including bruises appearing on Thompson’s body during a week she and Elliott were sharing a room – was enough to conclude that Elliott committed domestic violence. But with Thompson being cited as the NFL’s only firsthand witness to the events she is alleging, a source close to Elliott said his lawyers and the NFLPA have seized upon the exchange to question aspects of motive and credibility in an appeal filed on Tuesday.
Many others following the case point out what’s said in the second paragraph: that blackmail attempts from the victim don’t nullify anything illegal Elliott did before the blackmail occurred. It harms the optics of the case for the accuser, but it doesn’t absolve Elliott of the crimes he allegedly committed.
This is the problem with these NFL investigations in the first place: they’re not the police, and their rulings can ultimately come down to circumstantial evidence. Elliott’s lawyers believe the NFL did not properly weigh potential motivations of the victim in its ruling, but the NFL is not part of a legal body in this case. All it can do is determine whether its players should be on the field on Sundays.
The full ruling and more about the text messages are in the original Yahoo story. Suffice it to say, you’ll be hearing a lot more about this case and its disturbing details as the season begins.
