Cowboys: Elliott situation already casting a pall on the season

The Dallas Cowboys enter this season with more promise than in recent memory. But the ongoing drama surrounding Ezekiel Elliott casts a troubling shadow.

Pardon me for a cynical tone here, but the company line for the Dallas Cowboys and Ezekiel Elliott seems to be as follows: yeah, he’s a jerk, but his accuser is a bigger jerk—with an agenda. There’s no other way to explain it. It is simply the latest head scratcher in a series of incredulous moments.

In a move that defies rational explanation, Elliott’s legal team released the 160-page report authored by NFL investigators Kia Roberts and Lisa Friel. Of course, the current crux of the argument is that Roberts recommended no suspension for Elliott. She doubted Tiffany Thompson’s credibility. Therefore, Zeke’s gotta be innocent, right?

At least that’s what a large faction of Cowboys’ fans tend to believe. You see, Ezekiel Elliott is exceptionally good at football. It happened back in the nineties, and it’s happening now. So long as wins pile up and “we” contend for Lombardi trophies, it’s easy to look the other way. Our ‘Boys will be boys, yes? What’s a little domestic violence in the grand scheme of things?

The problem here is that, in releasing that report, there are other crude details that emerged. Those middling bits of minutiae don’t really paint our hero in the most flattering light. Drug use, heavy drinking, and an overall hard partying lifestyle don’t necessarily make Elliott the most sympathetic character.

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And look, I get it. I was once in my early twenties. I also adore rock & roll music. To this day, I still like life a little on the edgy side. I’ve never been one to shy away from decadence or depravity. I’ve also taken a lot of those manly dicta to heart, sometimes to the severe detriment of my health. I don’t have a problem with Zeke playing a fine edge on that end. What makes his behavior especially worrisome is that he appears to lack a modicum of self-awareness about the whole thing. Given the string of incidents in his short time in Dallas, it’s safe to assume this is the rule and not the exception.

So where does this put us? By “us”, I mean the people who write about this team, the folks who root for this team. I see a lot of the “Free Zeke” faction simply ready to exonerate this kid and move on. It’s not that easy. Tiffany Thompson may not be the most credible accuser, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t beaten by Ezekiel Elliott. That’s the biggest thing I have a problem with. For me, a particular karma awaits dudes who lay hands on their girls in a violent manner.

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It is also telling that this is dominating the story line about this team in the week leading up to the season opener. The Cowboys have the league’s most electrifying young running back/quarterback duo in Elliott and Dak Prescott. They came achingly close to making the NFC championship game last year. The offense is going to be unstoppable. Yet we’re busy clutching our pearls over whether or not the stud running back will miss the first six games of the season because he’s too volatile to count on.

Next: Why the Cowboys offense may be unstoppable in ’17

A lack of accountability may still work in the high school and college ranks. But in this day and age, it is increasingly difficult to hide a superstar’s warts once he makes it to the NFL. Unfortunately, the bill is already coming due on this kid. Unless he has a major change of heart, or more likely, a profound legal comeuppance, the lesson will never be learned, and the pattern of destructive behaviors will perpetuate.

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