Article Title:
"Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliot suspended six games for conduct." "Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott granted temporary restraining order, suspension on hold."
Article Link: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20302469/ezekiel-elliott-dallas-cowboys-suspended-six-games
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2017/09/08/ezekiel-elliott-temporary-restraining-order-dallas-cowboys/643882001/
Discussion Question(s): Read through the two articles which give information on the Ezekiel Elliot conduct case. After reading the two articles, answer the questions, what punishment should the NFL have handed out to Elliot, or should he not have gotten one at all? Also does this show preferential treatment towards good players?
I believe that Ezikiel Elliots punishment is absoluty not fitting of the crime. There is not enough evidence to even prove that there was a crime commited. "The Columbus City Attorney's office announced in September that it would not pursue charges against Elliott because of "conflicting and inconsistent information," If there is no proof of a punishment, then theres no reason to give a punishment. This doesn't show preferential treatment toward good or bad players because, the NFL is just doing what they have done no matter what, with Tom Brady and the deflate gate or anything like that. Also with Ray lewis, he had a similar case, except that he actually allegedly killed a man, and he got no punishment from the nfl. And he is going to be revered as a hall of fame player.
ReplyDeleteI think the Ezekiel Elliot doesn't deserve to be punished unless it was proven in court that he committed the crime. Since it wasn't proven I don't think he deserves a punishment. I think the NFL doesn't give preferential treatment to better players in the past and now. Ray Rice was a very good running back but he was suspended by the league for abusing his wife. He pretty much never played again after the incident. I think the NFL some of the time gives the players less punishment than they may deserve but it isn't different between players based on skill.
ReplyDeleteI think that Elliot's punishment needs to be given at a later date, and the NFL is justifies in waiting. You are innocent until proven guilty, and right now, Eliiot is innocent. The NFL should not give a premature punishment, they should trust the appellate courts and punish Elliot accordingly. On the other hand, the NFL could have suspended Elliot for pulling down a woman's shirt, of which there is video evidence of. Still, the NFL is doing the right thing by waiting for the courts. I do think the NFL favors their star players when making punishments, though. For example, Jameis Winston raped someone. FSU covered it up and reached a settlement for close to 1 million dollars, and Jameis was never dealt a punishment by the NFL. Overall, the NFL is doing the right thing is this particular case so far.
ReplyDeleteI think that Elliot's punishment is too extreme for the crime he committed. It has not been proven in a proper court therefore he is innocent until proven guilty. The NFL shouldn't punish before the justice system does. If there is no punishment in the state why should there be one on the field. Overall I find Elliot's punishment to be extreme and harsh, and I think the coaches should reconsider.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the NFL should not have given Ezekiel Elliot punishment based on the information that they had. I think that they should take into account the evidence that is accounted for by the police. I believe this because the Columbus City Attorney's Office did not press any charges because there was "conflicting and inconsistent information. However, the NFL stated that they "were of the view that there is substantial and persuasive evidence supporting a finding that [Elliott] engaged in physical violence." Well where was this evidence when the Attorney's Office was investigating? How does any of this add up? I think that the NFL needs to make a clear-cut process for suspending players because as Eric Winston stated, "There's just a lack of a protocol, there's a lack of a coherent process, there's a lack of anything, there's a lack of player buy in, because [the league has] chosen to go at it alone." I think that the NFL should team up with whatever part of the government is investigating because when Elliot pulled a woman's shirt down, where there was clear evidence, he didn't get any suspension. I think that the NFL should give Elliot his punishment based on what evidence is legally found. That way, there is a more coherent process. This does not at all show preferential treatment towards good players, as any incident like this would be investigated, and it just so happens that the good players are the ones using bad judgement and getting suspended.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Ezekiel Elliot's punishment is appropriate, whether he committed a crime or not. I am a huge Ohio State fan and have grown up watching them since I was little. Ezekiel Elliot's presence on the field was probably the most effective and successful in game of college football, and will be in the NFL. However, there is no excuse to be tied to a crime, let alon even a mention of ones name in it. This should be raising red flags to the Cowboys, and as much as I like seeing Zeke dominate on the field. I believe a simple one game punishment should have been handed out to him and that it really should be the Cowboy's choice about Elliot's playing. They are his responsibility and if he turns into a bad name, it will be a sour taste for the Dallas Cowboys organization.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ezekiel Elliot's punishment is appropriate, he's was proven innocent by a court of law. weather or not he did it he was not arrested or charged. I think that the NFL is putting to much of a punishment on him 6 games was a awful lot for a person that was not proven guilty. If there needs to be a punishment the NFL should have just made him pay up or put one two two game suspension on him. There his a lot of other big name players that have done worse and have suffered the consequences and if the Dallas Cowboys believed what he did was so bad they should have dropped him like the ravens did or the 49s. He was not proven guilty by a court of law so i believe the NFL should not do anything to him or if they have to to show a point something minimal.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Ezekiel Elliot's punishment is not appropriate in most cases. I think that it is not right for the NFL to punish Elliot with no charge against him or no say that he was proven guilty. Not only is sitting out of 6 games a lot for a crime that can not be proven, it also was delayed since the first allegation. The case was first brought to a court's attention more than a year ago, and the fact that the NFL took this long to reach this conclusion is not okay. I believe that the NFL should take into consideration the findings of the experts and police and the fact that no charges were pressed, "Legal authorities concluded that they could not prove Elliott's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Several witnesses, according to sources close to the case, had heard the woman yell at Elliott that she would "ruin his career" when she was unhappy that they would not continue their relationship." An angry girlfriend about a breakup may cause certain allegations against her boyfriend in order to disrupt or potentially "ruin" his life and that should be taken into consideration. Although some evidence did hinder at Ezekiel's potential involvement, the punishment should not be as intense as it is not. The NFL if believe doing so, should punish Elliot but not to this severity. This does not show preferential treatment towards players because this punishment is harsh against something that is not even proven in the court of law.
ReplyDeleteEzekiel Elliot's punishment is in now way fair. He was not proven to be guilty and therefore the NFL had no right to punish him. Unless the NFL thinks of itself as higher than the justice system, they cannot punish an innocent man. This also brings up the question of how strict the NFL should be in general. I think the NFL should loosen up punishments for celebrations, targeting, and personal cases like Elliot. They have to realize that they are just a football league not the justice system.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the initial six game suspension given to Ezekiel Elliott is by no means logical or fair. Ray Rice was only suspended two games for his domestic violence incident and there was clear and coherent evidence that Rice was indeed guilty. With Ezekiel Elliott there does not appear to be any substantial evidence that he committed the crimes he was accused of. The Columbus City Attorneys Office stopped their pursuit in charging Elliott because of "conflicting evidence" which implies no guilt on the part of Elliott. What then gives NFL investigators the right to conclude that not only Elliott is guilty, but that he deserves a six game suspension. That makes absolutely no sense to me and is beginning to feel like a deflate-gate like witch hunt after one of the leagues best players. In the US you are innocent until proven guilty and if there was not enough evidence to convict Elliott in court, he should remain innocent because there is no reasonable explanation for the NFL to use the same evidence to find him guilty. I do not believe that there is a preference or "special treatment" to good players. The NFL pursued and targeted Tom Brady, a 4 time super bowl champion at the time of his suspension. In his case there was again a lack of substantial evidence, and they suspended him anyway. If there were any preference shown by the NFL, one would think it would be shown to a 4-time(now 5-time) super bowl champion QB other than a rookie coming off of one good year. No matter the track record of the player, if there is clear evidence of wrongdoing, he will be punished , there is simply no clear evidence in this case.
ReplyDeleteI believe Elliott punishment is not right. One is innocent until proven guilty and he is not guilty just yet. he hasn't been proven guilty which should mean the NFL should hold off before they put the suspension in place. I understand the NFL for doing this and taking him off the field because he is under investigation for domestic violence and it says in the article that "A player can be disciplined under the league’s policy even if he hasn’t faced legal charges." This shows the NFL can suspend him with no lawful proof to be shown. So therefore I think the NFL could have held off for a little bit longer for more information but they have every right to do what they did.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Ezekiel Elliott should receive some sorta punishment because his actions since he has joined the NFL have been disgraceful. In the past 2 years, Ezekiel Elliott has been in 2 bar fights, exposed a woman’s breast publicly without consent, suspected use of marijuana, through a party on a yacht that the coast guard had to break up, and was accused of domestic violence. Ezekiel Elliott is a very talented kid and he needs to get his act together before it is too late. If he continues to act like this his career will end too early because of some off the field concern. The actions listed above are just things that Ezekiel Elliott has been caught doing, imagine what other things has been able to hide. Ezekiel Elliott needs to understand that his habits have to change and a suspension may be the only way for him to understand that. His bad habits are not a new thing, in college Ezekiel Elliott’s dad had to move to Ohio State to watch over his son. Ezekiel Elliott has gotten away with his rambunctious antics for too long and he needs to be taught a lesson.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, a punishment from the NFL on Ezekiel Elliot is unreasonable and invalid. There is not enough, if any, evidence to charge him, so why should he be getting punished for something that is alleged? While there should be no punishment on the claim that he used domestic violence on his ex-girlfriend, there may be other valid reasons to punish him, such as his actions in bars or with other women publicly. However though, this is not the current issue/controversy at hand, therefore it is irrelevant to the current punishment. I do not think that this shows preferential treatment to the "good" players, because they are suspended a "good" player by unreasonable means. If it were showing preferential treatment, then there would be no punishment or controversies, and all investigations would be dropped. However, this is not the case. Therefore, it is not showing favoritism towards Elliot because he is good.
ReplyDeleteElliot shouldn't be punished at all yet. There isn't enough evidence to say for certain that he's guilty. The NFL should wait until they can prove whether Elliot is guilty or innocent before suspending him. Even if he is guilty, his suspension sholdn't be six games. Ray Rice only got two games for domestic violence, so why does Elliot get six? There is a clear double standard in how domestic violence is being punished. Elliot shouldn't get suspended for three times as long for doing the same thing, especially since the evidence isn't nearly as solid against him as against Ray Rice. If he is found guilty, it's only fair that he be suspended for two games, same as Rice was.
ReplyDeleteElliot was punished based on a belief by the judge. After watching many many cop shows, and taking forensics, my opinion only goes one way, he should not be punished. However, he did not attempt to repeal the accusation which I find interesting. If he didn't commit this crime, then why did was there no attempt to repeal it...strange. Furthermore, other professional athletes have committed similar acts of domestic violence and, like josh said above, did not receive the same amount of punishment.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the NFL should not have charged Elliott in the first place because there is not enough, if any, evidence of him doing wrong. I think the NFL is doing the right thing by postponing his suspension because everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty. Elliott has not yet been proven guilty by the court and therefore deserves no punishment. The NFL shouldn't punish their players based off of meager allegations, especially from someone who has a motive to cause harm to Elliott. I don't think that this punishment shows any kind of bias by the NFL toward players that are considered "good." Elliott is clearly a proven player of great value to the Cowboys and since Ray Rice, another great player, was suspended for only 2 weeks for domestic violence, the accusation at hand doesn't show any bias. While there is surely evidence of Elliott causing trouble by pulling down woman's shirt, exposing her breasts, this is not the charge at hand, and therefore bears no relevance in this case.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal opinion, I don't think that it's fair for the NFL to charge Ezekiel Elliot yet due to the fact that there is no hard evidence to the alleged domestic violence accusation against him. It's definitely not appropriate to give a player a 6 game suspension yet, solely due to the fact that it's only an accusation so far and no one really knows if he has or hasn't done anything to his girlfriend. However, Ezekiel Elliot has been a pretty controversial player ever since he joined the NFL (getting in trouble at bars and trouble off football field) and this could cause some trouble since the NFL might think that it could increase the odds that he has committed the crime. Nonetheless, there is no hard evidence so I think that his suspension should be postponed as much as it could be until a final decision has been made at court.
ReplyDeleteI believe Zeke shouldn’t receive a punishment due to the fact thats theres no evidence of him convicting the crime. Yes, Zeke has committed acts prior to this event, but there's no evidence for this specific case. If there was evidence of Zeke committing the crime, it would be one hundred percent appropriate for him to receive a punishment. The six game suspension was a reasonable conviction, if there was a crime with evidence to convict him of.
ReplyDeleteI think this shows how the NFL does favor, and oppose against certain players in the NFL. I believe if a player like Odell, Brady, or someone that Goodell hates, committed one of these crimes, they would most definitely be suspended. There have been multiple occasions with touchdowns celebrations where one player will be fined for a certain celebration, and another player won’t be fined. For example Odell got fined for doing the dog peeing celebration, and got fined. But, last year, Zeke jumped into a red pot after his celebration, and didn’t get fined. If Odell were to do this celebration, I feel he would get fined immediately.
I don't think he should be punished right away. Ezekiel Elliot is being treated unfairly, he was punished based of a belief and no actual facts and is not legally charged with assault. You are innocent until proven guilty. However, Zeke has had history with criminal acts. Including bar fights and exposing women's breasts without consent.
ReplyDelete