NFL going ahead with Investigation into Zeke

[Nightman]

Right, there is a difference between what a company can do and what the police can do. That's why I feel the company should stay out of criminal matters that does not directly involve the company. If I work at microsoft and am caught embezzling money then that's a criminal matter that the police and Microsoft should investigate since it was a crime against microsoft. If I beat up my kids at home and the police get involved then the CEO of Microsoft has no right to investigate me. Bill Gates has no right to show up at my house and interview my family, kids, neighbors etc. If my crime has nothing to do with my employment then my employers can not fire me. That would be unlawful termination and that's a crime. Now let's say I beat my kids and I work for a child welfare agency, then the behavior of beating children directly impacts my employment and that would be a lawful termination or suspension.

This is where the line is blurred and boundaries are crossed with the NFL. The NFL is investigating criminal matters of it's employees that are not crimes against the NFL. The dangerous part about this is there is no accountability for witnesses to give a false narrative to either protect or harm the player. There's accountability if you lie to a police officer and make a false report. As far as I know there's no accountability for lying to the NFL.

So in Elliot's case, let's say the police do their investigation and find no grounds to prosecute or arrest him. But when the NFL does it's investigation, let's say there's a couple people (not the woman in question but other witnesses) out there that have an axe to grind with Elliot or hate him for some reason and give the NFL a false report. This false report is just enough to make Goodell suspend Elliott. What's the justice in that. Again I feel that the NFL should wait until the police and the justice system do their jobs and then react. I feel strongly that the NFL should not be out investigating and talking to witnesses. If the extent of the NFL's "investigation" is to talk to Elliott and only Elliott then I don't have a problem with it because Elliott is an NFL employee and has caused national attention to the league. That's fair to talk to him but if they're talking to people that are not an NFL employee then it's crossing boundaries, dangerous and irresponsible.

What people might say on the phone is a lot different than saying it under oath with the threat of perjury and facing cross-examination...the NFL needs to leave the detective work to the detectives.....waiting on the criminal justice system to act seems like the only road to follow

 

[Western]

EE being a member of the NFLPA has rights under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. In addition, EE has legal rights/remedies under federal labor law.
Even if Goodell issues a suspension based on an investigation and recommendation by the NFL's "domestic violence prosecutor czar", NFLPA can appeal on behalf of EE -- unfortunately under the CBA, the appeal decision is heard by the Commissioner (hence, Goodell is the judge, jury, & executioner).

Then the NFLPA can sue in Federal Court vacating Goodell's decision of affirming the aforementioned suspension (claiming an unfair process, lack of impartiality, abusive discretion of power, & Goodell lacked reasonable and lawful grounds for a suspension, etc.)
It turns into a jurisdictional court battle of back-and-forth legal tactics -- best to avoid this public show and cluster******.

EE needs to fully participate in the investigation, claim innocence with the NFL investigator, submit the official police report to the NFL investigator, have witnesses ready to provide statements in person to the NFL investigator, fully advise NFLPA legal team of the NFL's investigation process, & make no public comment with the press or statements on social media.
Look, EE has no criminal convictions on his record and the facts in this case support his claim of innocence.

It would be best that the NFLPA along with EE's representatives and Goodell have a behind-the-door meeting to resolve this (in other words, to avoid a public court battle) IF, Goodell has the slightest instinct/inclination to suspend EE when the burden of proof (the NFL standard of the 'claim more than likely than not occurred') is not met in this specific case since the facts state otherwise.

 

[casmith07]

Serious question: What could they possibly investigate?

There is the police report they can review, yes.

Would the NFL go interview the woman in question, the witnesses to the incident? Will they ask to review Zeke's text messages?

Tying to get my mind around how intense they are able to investigate.

Due diligence/CYA.

You cannot, in the current climate, disregard it and not conduct at least an investigation.

 

[casmith07]

If EE gets suspended with proof he is innocent of this, I will be completely and utterly disgusted for the umpteenth time with the NFL

I'll be close to done.

 

[Wood]

He's a Cowboy. The perceived entitled reputation alone begs for an investigation to be done. No benefit of a doubt. When it comes to the NFL, Cowboys lives don't matter!

can we stop with this. Its weak. The NFL will investigate any NFL player who has domestic charges brought up against them. Its hugely important issue for good reason...if NFL doesn't get a grip on issue they are vulnerable to special interest groups who happen to possess fire power.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/10...-ezekiel-elliott-domestic-violence-accusation

I thought this was already done. Guess not. Really hope Goodell doesn't stick it to us on this one because of who he plays for. Guess they have to do their due dilegence though, I am not too worried.

Roger Robespierre will make this bigger than it is

 

[AsthmaField]

Well, I hope he has them and this whole thing disappears. I'll be worrying about it until it does.

He also showed the texts to the Columbus Ohio police department when they responded to the girls 911 call. Someone inside the Cowboys told Calvin Hill that he has the text messages. Not to mention that his family has stated publicly that he has them.

Shortly after posting the pictures on Instagram, the girl took them down pronto when she figured out he had the messages and proof of her bruises coming from the girl fight. That tells you an awful lot. For her to yank the pictures just a couple of hours after posting them and make her instagram account private, says one thing. She realized the game was over and the more people that saw her Instagram, the more foolish she would look. Otherwise, she would have left that out there for everyone to see for as long as possible.

There are plenty of things to worry about with the Cowboys... Elliott and his text messages aren't one of them. He has them and he will be exonerated by everyone soon enough... including by the NFL's investigation.

There is nothing to worry about with either the police nor the NFL in this case. It is all but finished.

The NFL 100% had to look into this. In the court of public opinion, they had no other choice. I immediately knew they'd still look into the accusations, even after Elliott having the texts, video, etc. I mean, what was the NFL going to do? Say, "Well, we heard he had texts from her that said she would try this... so, the case is shut."

Nope, they have to do their due diligence on the matter. What is surprising to me is the amount of Cowboys fans who are all worried about what the NFL will find. I mean, it is a pretty clear cut case here. Everyone and their brother knows what happened and understand that Elliott isn't at fault here. Even the media has pretty much let it go at this point, which you know they didn't want to. Hell, even Commander, Giants, and Eagles fans have begrudgingly dropped it.

It is over except for the NFL having to look at it to appease the over-reactive masses.

 

[Nightman]

can we stop with this. Its weak. The NFL will investigate any NFL player who has domestic charges brought up against them. Its hugely important issue for good reason...if NFL doesn't get a grip on issue they are vulnerable to special interest groups who happen to possess fire power.

He hasn't had charges brought and the DA said they weren't going to....it is merely an accusation that looks pretty thin

How exactly do they investigate......do they interview the girl???...EE???...witnesses???

 

[plymkr]

What people might say on the phone is a lot different than saying it under oath with the threat of perjury and facing cross-examination...the NFL needs to leave the detective work to the detectives.....waiting on the criminal justice system to act seems like the only road to follow

I completely agree

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

The good news guys is that they have great investigators. They have this lady who's a committed Giants fan and is completely unbiased regarding DV issues.

 

[jazzcat22]

I'm ready for some football...it starts soon.
Charter flys out Thursday. Not sure what time, but I can find out.
I have quite a few good friends at DFW airport and AMerican Airlines.

1st practice is Saturday, let's get ready for some football.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Due diligence/CYA.

You cannot, in the current climate, disregard it and not conduct at least an investigation.

Yup nothing wrong with due diligence.

 

[phildadon86]

The good news guys is that they have great investigators. They have this lady who's a committed Giants fan and is completely unbiased regarding DV issues.

Well that ruined my day

 

[Kevinicus]

Right, there is a difference between what a company can do and what the police can do. That's why I feel the company should stay out of criminal matters that does not directly involve the company. If I work at microsoft and am caught embezzling money then that's a criminal matter that the police and Microsoft should investigate since it was a crime against microsoft. If I beat up my kids at home and the police get involved then the CEO of Microsoft has no right to investigate me. Bill Gates has no right to show up at my house and interview my family, kids, neighbors etc. If my crime has nothing to do with my employment then my employers can not fire me. That would be unlawful termination and that's a crime. Now let's say I beat my kids and I work for a child welfare agency, then the behavior of beating children directly impacts my employment and that would be a lawful termination or suspension.

This is where the line is blurred and boundaries are crossed with the NFL. The NFL is investigating criminal matters of it's employees that are not crimes against the NFL. The dangerous part about this is there is no accountability for witnesses to give a false narrative to either protect or harm the player. There's accountability if you lie to a police officer and make a false report. As far as I know there's no accountability for lying to the NFL.

So in Elliot's case, let's say the police do their investigation and find no grounds to prosecute or arrest him. But when the NFL does it's investigation, let's say there's a couple people (not the woman in question but other witnesses) out there that have an axe to grind with Elliot or hate him for some reason and give the NFL a false report. This false report is just enough to make Goodell suspend Elliott. What's the justice in that. Again I feel that the NFL should wait until the police and the justice system do their jobs and then react. I feel strongly that the NFL should not be out investigating and talking to witnesses. If the extent of the NFL's "investigation" is to talk to Elliott and only Elliott then I don't have a problem with it because Elliott is an NFL employee and has caused national attention to the league. That's fair to talk to him but if they're talking to people that are not an NFL employee then it's crossing boundaries, dangerous and irresponsible.

Your actions reflect on your company whether or not they are directly involved. Especially when public relations are such a huge part of the business such as in the NFL.

 

[Zekeats]

He also showed the texts to the Columbus Ohio police department when they responded to the girls 911 call. Someone inside the Cowboys told Calvin Hill that he has the text messages. Not to mention that his family has stated publicly that he has them.

Shortly after posting the pictures on Instagram, the girl took them down pronto when she figured out he had the messages and proof of her bruises coming from the girl fight. That tells you an awful lot. For her to yank the pictures just a couple of hours after posting them and make her instagram account private, says one thing. She realized the game was over and the more people that saw her Instagram, the more foolish she would look. Otherwise, she would have left that out there for everyone to see for as long as possible.

There are plenty of things to worry about with the Cowboys... Elliott and his text messages aren't one of them. He has them and he will be exonerated by everyone soon enough... including by the NFL's investigation.

There is nothing to worry about with either the police nor the NFL in this case. It is all but finished.

The NFL 100% had to look into this. In the court of public opinion, they had no other choice. I immediately knew they'd still look into the accusations, even after Elliott having the texts, video, etc. I mean, what was the NFL going to do? Say, "Well, we heard he had texts from her that said she would try this... so, the case is shut."

Nope, they have to do their due diligence on the matter. What is surprising to me is the amount of Cowboys fans who are all worried about what the NFL will find. I mean, it is a pretty clear cut case here. Everyone and their brother knows what happened and understand that Elliott isn't at fault here. Even the media has pretty much let it go at this point, which you know they didn't want to. Hell, even Commander, Giants, and Eagles fans have begrudgingly dropped it.

It is over except for the NFL having to look at it to appease the over-reactive masses.

I have to say that this is the part that scares me the most. It's very possible that she got paid to take that down or at least got some sort of an offer. Not saying that EE is guilty. Not saying he's innocent either. Time will tell. No matter what happens one thing is certain and that is the girl is a crazy gold digger.

PS Huge Elliott fan who was ecstatic when we drafted him. Praying he never laid a hand on this girl though.

 

[JoeKing]

can we stop with this. Its weak. The NFL will investigate any NFL player who has domestic charges brought up against them. Its hugely important issue for good reason...if NFL doesn't get a grip on issue they are vulnerable to special interest groups who happen to possess fire power.

No charges have been filed. The NFL has jumped the gun with this investigation. Just because one of the candidates for presidential office said victims of DV deserve to be heard and believed, it doesn't make it true. Some of those claims are outright lies, more often than most people want to acknowledge. There's just one thing that needed to be done after this succubus was given her 15 minutes to get her so called story out, give EE the same consideration. He has the story that reveals the truth supported by her own words. This should be over. Dragging it out is an injustice not just to EE but to all males of the species.

 

[plymkr]

Your actions reflect on your company whether or not they are directly involved. Especially when public relations are such a huge part of the business such as in the NFL.

I agree completely. I think were me and you are having a disconnect is at what point and to what extent does the NFL investigate a criminal matter. I feel it's appropriate for the NFL to contact Elliott and interview him and somewhat investigate on Elliott. He's an NFL employee. I feel it's very inappropriate for the NFL to do a full scale investigation involving witnesses, evidence, etc. That's police work. Once the police work is done and the police decide to act accordingly then I feel the NFL should either punish the player or not punish the player depending on the justice system outcome.

If it's not done this way then Roger Goodell is basically in charge of a police force to investigate player activity, then he's the judge, jury and executioner based off of what his investigators found out. That is too much power for one person to have when there is not an accountability system set up for Roger and the people that he uses to investigate, i.e, witnesses. Roger has too much power as it is and if he ignores the legal system and uses his own people to investigate and then disciplines his players according to how he feels about the case then that's a dictatorship. We would be in a bad shape as far as the NFL goes if a player is exonerated in a court of Law but the Court of Goodell finds reason to discipline a player. Ala if Elliott was exonerated by the police but Goodell still suspended him for a portion or all of the season just because he felt his investigators found something.

I agree with everything you said. In no way do I feel that anything you said is wrong or incorrect and I respect your point of view. Elliott does represent the NFL and he needs to act like a pro and be a good example of the NFL. If he's not, the NFL has the right to investigate him. In short where we differ is I feel the NFL has the right to investigate only him and nothing else with this case and allow an independent party do their job. And not just in this case but in every criminal case with every team.

 

[tyke1doe]

Is this the same woman who took a picture of her in bed with Zeke as he slept and posted it on social media?

 

[NeonNinja]

He also showed the texts to the Columbus Ohio police department when they responded to the girls 911 call. Someone inside the Cowboys told Calvin Hill that he has the text messages. Not to mention that his family has stated publicly that he has them.

Shortly after posting the pictures on Instagram, the girl took them down pronto when she figured out he had the messages and proof of her bruises coming from the girl fight. That tells you an awful lot. For her to yank the pictures just a couple of hours after posting them and make her instagram account private, says one thing. She realized the game was over and the more people that saw her Instagram, the more foolish she would look. Otherwise, she would have left that out there for everyone to see for as long as possible.

There are plenty of things to worry about with the Cowboys... Elliott and his text messages aren't one of them. He has them and he will be exonerated by everyone soon enough... including by the NFL's investigation.

There is nothing to worry about with either the police nor the NFL in this case. It is all but finished.

The NFL 100% had to look into this. In the court of public opinion, they had no other choice. I immediately knew they'd still look into the accusations, even after Elliott having the texts, video, etc. I mean, what was the NFL going to do? Say, "Well, we heard he had texts from her that said she would try this... so, the case is shut."

Nope, they have to do their due diligence on the matter. What is surprising to me is the amount of Cowboys fans who are all worried about what the NFL will find. I mean, it is a pretty clear cut case here. Everyone and their brother knows what happened and understand that Elliott isn't at fault here. Even the media has pretty much let it go at this point, which you know they didn't want to. Hell, even Commander, Giants, and Eagles fans have begrudgingly dropped it.

It is over except for the NFL having to look at it to appease the over-reactive masses.

Agreed. Well said.

 

[Tabascocat]

All the NFL is going to uncover is that Zeke is an outstanding young man and that they better be preparing his entrance into the HOF