Roger Goodell says NFL hasn’t made decision on Ezekiel Elliott
Don’t listen to Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter when it comes to the NFL’s pending decision on whether Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott should be suspended.
At least that’s what a league spokesman and commissioner Roger Goodell himself said on Monday after Carter claimed on Fox Sports 1 that the league would hand Elliott a suspension “in the next 48 hours.”
“The matter remains under review,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email to the Star-Telegram. “That is speculation on [Carter’s] part.”
Goodell echoed those sentiments in an interview with Newsday, saying: “I don’t think Cris has anything to do with the decision. We haven’t made any decisions yet.”
But the Elliott investigation remains a hot topic around the league. Everybody is wondering when the NFL will make its decision after more than a year of investigating Elliott, the league’s leading rusher a season ago as a rookie.
Elliott said the league was “dragging its feet” after the season, and there is still no closure months later.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said recently he felt a decision was “imminent.” Executive vice president Stephen Jones has said he hoped a decision would be reached by the end of this week.
For the time being, though, it’s a waiting game. Goodell is having an outside panel of four experts advise him on how he should handle the situation. At the end of the day, Goodell will make the decision.
Elliott, 22, was initially investigated by the league for domestic violence allegations made against him by an ex girlfriend in July 2016. The Columbus, Ohio city prosecutor’s office declined to pursue charges because of inconsistent information from the victim.
The league, however, does not need a legal charge in order to hand Elliott a suspension under its personal conduct policy.
Along with the domestic violence allegations, Elliott has made headlines for the wrong reasons this offseason too. He exposed a woman’s breast during a St. Patrick’s Day parade and allegedly got into a bar altercation days before the Cowboys left for training camp.
Jerry Jones said the NFL is looking more into a “pattern of behavior” issue with Elliott instead of the domestic violence. But Jones has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t expect Elliott to receive a suspension from the NFL.
Elliott has yet to talk in training camp until this matter is resolved.
In the meantime, others such as Carter will continue chiming in and offering their thoughts – right or wrong.
This story was originally published August 7, 2017 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Roger Goodell says NFL hasn’t made decision on Ezekiel Elliott."