Dallas Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott altercation casts negative shadow

Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was reportedly involved in an altercation at a bar early on Monday, which makes his situation more difficult.

Any recent news about Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t been flattering. There have been reports from ESPN’s Adam Schefter regarding the NFL’s ongoing investigation regarding a domestic violence accusation from 2016. Schefter reported that a suspension could be forthcoming still, despite him never facing any charges for the incident.

Many fans, both Cowboys and not, have come to Elliott’s defense in this regard. There are multiple reports regarding the accusations from 2016 that point to the accuser fabricating the events, including an affidavit from a witness saying they were told to lie about the incident by the accuser (per Deadspin). And considering that the accusations were dismissed by police, it seemed asinine that the NFL was even still investigating, much less that he could still be suspended.

However, when it comes to Elliott, it’s not a cut-and-dry case as he’s displayed more troubling off-the-field behavior. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2017, the Cowboys running back was shown on video pulling a woman’s top down. This created a media firestorm, and rightfully so. However, there was no legal action in the matter. Yet, it could play into Elliott’s character as the league evaluates his case.

Now he has another incident speaking negatively about him that regard. Early on Monday morning, Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan reported that Elliott was involved in an altercation at Clutch, a bar in Dallas. Fisher later reported that the running back was not arrested, but had no word on if the police were called:

There were more reports that the altercation involved a bouncer at Clutch, as more people confirmed the story. Fisher also reported that the Cowboys organization was notified of the incident. However, details seemed scarce still. But one Twitter user seemed to offer some insight about the altercation (Warning: NSFW Language):

Obviously that’s not specific in any regard, but if we’re speculating and piecing things together, it would seem that perhaps Elliott got into it with a bouncer at clutch and laid him out. Again, that’s not confirmed in any case, but something of that sort seems to have happened.

More from Dallas Cowboys

• Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
• Zack is back, good news for Dak and the Cowboys
• Dallas Cowboys: Are Dak’s interceptions cause for concern?
• Cowboys: Micah Parsons will be even more impactful in 2023
• 2023 NFL Season: It’s now or never for the Dallas Cowboys

In truth, it doesn’t matter a great deal what the details are. What does matter is that Elliott is continuing to make poor decisions off the field. This coming after I wrote about him showing signs of maturity as he said that he was spending more time just staying at home rather than going out. Apparently he isn’t staying at home quite enough.

Though things could theoretically change as more details emerge, this doesn’t look favorable for Elliott in terms of avoiding a suspension. Fisher later reported that the league’s investigation would continue and include a full evaluation of his off-field behavior. This incident obviously isn’t going to work in his favor.

Beyond the prospect of a suspension, though, this pattern of behavior from Elliott is concerning. Even if this isn’t ultimately a big deal — perhaps he and friends got into a scuffle — he has a troubling propensity for finding himself in negative situations such as this. For a player talented enough to be the face of the biggest franchise in the NFL, that can’t happen.

Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Pre-training camp

Again, maybe this is all being blown out of proportion in regards to the Clutch altercation, or maybe it’s not. What’s clear is that Elliott was already fighting a negative perception due to past incidents. And something like this is only going to make that more so the case.

Update 10:08 a.m. ET

The Dallas Police Department issued a statement on an incident at Clutch that they are investigating. As Tom Pelissero notes, Elliott is not mentioned in the statement.