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Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott could not stop smiling Saturday.
As he roamed through Centennial Hall at Fair Park in Dallas during the National Fantasy Football Convention, his every move was watched. As he attempted to sign autographs for kids on a makeshift football field, he was mobbed to the point that he ultimately had to go to a back room off-limits to the public.
The crowd swelled as he went on stage to be part of a charitable cause run by Operation Homefront in which a member of the armed services was given a house.
He playfully jumped into a Salvation Army red kettle to recreate his touchdown celebration from last season. He even got a kiss on the cheek from Hall of Famer Charles Haley.
Later, Elliott ducked through some curtains and signed autographs for roughly 25 more minutes as part of an impromptu session.
Through it all, Elliott had fun.
The next night, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Elliott was involved in an incident at a club in Uptown Dallas in which a man was struck in the nose. Elliott was not named in the police report or listed as a suspect.
In June, Ezekiel Elliott talked about slowing down off the field. "You learn from your mistakes, and if you don't, it can be brutal," he said. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
The NFL and the Cowboys are looking into the matter. The Dallas police are conducting an investigation, as well.
Elliott, the NFL's 2016 reigning rushing champion, is already being investigated by the NFL for an alleged domestic violence incident with a former girlfriend last July in Columbus, Ohio. According to Schefter, Elliott’s camp was bracing last week for a short suspension from the NFL. It’s not clear if the latest incident would impact any penalty coming from the league.
That the former Ohio State star enjoys the nightlife is not surprising. Teams were aware of the issues that came up in routine discussions with OSU officials leading up to the draft. Nobody, however, was going to keep Elliott off their draft board because of it. Some figured he would grow up.
The Cowboys heard the worries and still were convinced to take him with the fourth overall pick last year. Elliott scored 16 touchdowns (15 rushing, one receiving) and led the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards. Elliott and QB Dak Prescott spearheaded the Cowboys' turnaround from a 4-12 finish in 2015 to a 13-3 record in 2016.
On multiple occasions last season, and once this offseason, Elliott said the spotlight that comes with being a member of the Cowboys is more intense than he thought it would be, even after the attention he garnered at Ohio State.
In June, Elliott talked about slowing down off the field.
“I think it’s just life,” Elliott said. “You learn from your mistakes, and if you don’t, it can be brutal. So it’s just part of life.”
Pending the outcome of the current investigation, Elliott has stayed in the clear legally. The Columbus city attorney did not press charges because of conflicting evidence and inconsistent stories. That does not mean Elliott will escape penalty from the NFL.
Last August, Elliott went to a marijuana dispensary in Seattle before the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Seahawks, as ESPN has reported. In March, according to multiple reports, he pulled down a woman’s top while on the rooftop of a Dallas bar during a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Now comes Sunday’s incident.
Bill Parcells was talking about Terrell Owens in 2006 when the coach remembered a line his father used to tell him when Bill got in trouble.
"'It's never your fault but you're always there' -- that's what he used to say to me," Parcells said then. "Some people just seem to have a penchant."
That’s the line Elliott has walked for some time. It may soon be his fault, and he will have to pay the consequences, on and off the field.
When the Cowboys’ offseason program ended in June, coach Jason Garrett left his players with a brief message about doing the right things and staying out of trouble.
“This is an important time,” tight end Jason Witten said after the final minicamp practice. “You see it all around the league. You do all this work and then school’s out. What’s going to happen? I think our team understands that, and I think the biggest thing is you just have to use good judgment and understand that we’re pursuing something bigger than any individual in this room, so you don’t want to do anything that is going to cost us with accountability. Coach has touched on it. I think we’ve done a good job all offseason talking about, it but it’s important. You’ve got to make it important over the next five weeks."
On Saturday, the Cowboys will fly to Oxnard, California, for the start of training camp.
It also happens to be Elliott’s 22nd birthday.
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott could not stop smiling Saturday.
As he roamed through Centennial Hall at Fair Park in Dallas during the National Fantasy Football Convention, his every move was watched. As he attempted to sign autographs for kids on a makeshift football field, he was mobbed to the point that he ultimately had to go to a back room off-limits to the public.
The crowd swelled as he went on stage to be part of a charitable cause run by Operation Homefront in which a member of the armed services was given a house.
He playfully jumped into a Salvation Army red kettle to recreate his touchdown celebration from last season. He even got a kiss on the cheek from Hall of Famer Charles Haley.
Later, Elliott ducked through some curtains and signed autographs for roughly 25 more minutes as part of an impromptu session.
Through it all, Elliott had fun.
The next night, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Elliott was involved in an incident at a club in Uptown Dallas in which a man was struck in the nose. Elliott was not named in the police report or listed as a suspect.
In June, Ezekiel Elliott talked about slowing down off the field. "You learn from your mistakes, and if you don't, it can be brutal," he said. Tom Pennington/Getty Images
The NFL and the Cowboys are looking into the matter. The Dallas police are conducting an investigation, as well.
Elliott, the NFL's 2016 reigning rushing champion, is already being investigated by the NFL for an alleged domestic violence incident with a former girlfriend last July in Columbus, Ohio. According to Schefter, Elliott’s camp was bracing last week for a short suspension from the NFL. It’s not clear if the latest incident would impact any penalty coming from the league.
That the former Ohio State star enjoys the nightlife is not surprising. Teams were aware of the issues that came up in routine discussions with OSU officials leading up to the draft. Nobody, however, was going to keep Elliott off their draft board because of it. Some figured he would grow up.
The Cowboys heard the worries and still were convinced to take him with the fourth overall pick last year. Elliott scored 16 touchdowns (15 rushing, one receiving) and led the NFL in rushing with 1,631 yards. Elliott and QB Dak Prescott spearheaded the Cowboys' turnaround from a 4-12 finish in 2015 to a 13-3 record in 2016.
On multiple occasions last season, and once this offseason, Elliott said the spotlight that comes with being a member of the Cowboys is more intense than he thought it would be, even after the attention he garnered at Ohio State.
In June, Elliott talked about slowing down off the field.
“I think it’s just life,” Elliott said. “You learn from your mistakes, and if you don’t, it can be brutal. So it’s just part of life.”
Pending the outcome of the current investigation, Elliott has stayed in the clear legally. The Columbus city attorney did not press charges because of conflicting evidence and inconsistent stories. That does not mean Elliott will escape penalty from the NFL.
Last August, Elliott went to a marijuana dispensary in Seattle before the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Seahawks, as ESPN has reported. In March, according to multiple reports, he pulled down a woman’s top while on the rooftop of a Dallas bar during a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Now comes Sunday’s incident.
Bill Parcells was talking about Terrell Owens in 2006 when the coach remembered a line his father used to tell him when Bill got in trouble.
"'It's never your fault but you're always there' -- that's what he used to say to me," Parcells said then. "Some people just seem to have a penchant."
That’s the line Elliott has walked for some time. It may soon be his fault, and he will have to pay the consequences, on and off the field.
When the Cowboys’ offseason program ended in June, coach Jason Garrett left his players with a brief message about doing the right things and staying out of trouble.
“This is an important time,” tight end Jason Witten said after the final minicamp practice. “You see it all around the league. You do all this work and then school’s out. What’s going to happen? I think our team understands that, and I think the biggest thing is you just have to use good judgment and understand that we’re pursuing something bigger than any individual in this room, so you don’t want to do anything that is going to cost us with accountability. Coach has touched on it. I think we’ve done a good job all offseason talking about, it but it’s important. You’ve got to make it important over the next five weeks."
On Saturday, the Cowboys will fly to Oxnard, California, for the start of training camp.
It also happens to be Elliott’s 22nd birthday.
