Jerry Jones: NFL wouldn’t have pursued Elliott case two years ago

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the NFL would not have looked into Ezekiel Elliott regarding domestic violence two years ago. Or maybe even 18 months ago.

But the league is trying to crackdown on domestic violence and Elliott finds himself in a precarious situation, facing a six-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Elliott is ready to take his case to federal court even though an arbitrator has yet to rule on the NFL’s suspension. Arbitrator Harold Henderson is expected to come down with a decision in the coming days.

If Henderson doesn’t fully vacate the suspension, does Jones believe Elliott should still take his case to court?

“I know the facts,” Jones said on his 105.3 The Fan radio show Tuesday. “Those are one thing that this situation reeks of is, of course, just the perception, so all of that has to be factored in. Two years ago, or a year and a half ago, Zeke wouldn’t even be involved with the issue of domestic violence as far as the NFL is concerned. So just think about that one.

“And when you get into definitions, I don’t want to in any way look like that [we should] go light on the gravity of the situation and the victim. But we all can see trying to figure out victims in these ‘he said, she said’ things are tough.”

Jones went on to say that he didn’t have a timeline on when Henderson may issue a decision regarding Elliott’s status. An NFL spokesman also said the league does not know when Henderson will issue a ruling.

Henderson only has to do it as soon as “practicable,” per the collective bargaining agreement.

Jones also didn’t offer much on whether he expected Elliott to play in Sunday’s regular-season opener against the New York Giants.

“I don’t want to make a comment, and y’all can imagine with as much as we’ve got flying around the court rooms and the basic hearing rooms,” Jones said. “That would be one that I’ll pass on this morning. I’ll have more news for you as we get into the week.”

This story was originally published September 5, 2017 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Jerry Jones: NFL wouldn’t have pursued Elliott case two years ago."