NFL & Union in ugly Zeke spat
EZEKIEL ELLIOTT’S six-game suspension has degenerated into an ugly street fight. Management vs. labor. The relationship between the NFL and the NFL Players Association has always been bitter, hostile and contentious and now may have hit an all-time low, which is saying a lot, with the league accusing the union of leaking damaging information about Elliott’s former girlfriend.
Going back to 1982 when the players based their 57-day strike on the platform, “We Are The Game,” and the owners gagged on their filet mignon, and then the players went on strike again for 24 days in 1987, Cowboys president Tex Schramm said to union boss Gene Upshaw, “The players are transients and the owners are the stewards of the game.”
The spirit of that hatred has been handed down several generations to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, who have absolutely no use for each other, and the explosive statements by their spokesmen Wednesday may have reached a low point.
Elliott, the 22-year-old Cowboys running back, has become the battleground after Goodell suspended him Friday for domestic violence after a 13-month investigation uncovered three different days in July of 2016 when Elliott allegedly abused his former girlfriend. Elliott has vehemently denied the accusations — he was never charged by the district attorney in Columbus, Ohio — and has been supported all along by Jerry Jones, although the Dallas owner has held off on public comment since the suspension was announced.
Bleacher Report quoted a Cowboys source saying Elliott was prepared to fight the suspension “as hard as Tom Brady did,” which could mean, in the likely event Elliott loses his appeal to the league, that this could potentially drag through the courts and enable him to be available all season to make a Super Bowl run with the Cowboys. Any court ruling would not be on the merits of the case but whether Goodell abused his power in Article 46 of the CBA and whether the process was unfair to Elliott.
Elliott’s father Stacy tweeted this week, “My son’s legal team is ready to fight! Let’s deal!!! You will know the set up and PLOT!”
Details of alleged conversations and interactions between Elliott and Tiffany Thompson have leaked out in the last few days – including alleged extortion with her threatening to reveal a sex tape — all casting Thompson in a negative light as a woman seeking revenge and a woman who has lied and has no credibility.
That prompted a venomous statement from Joe Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, who accused the NFLPA of a smear campaign against Thompson. That’s a serious accusation. He offered no example or proof.
“Over the past few days we’ve received multiple reports of the NFLPA spreading derogatory information to the media about the victim in the Ezekiel Elliott case,” said Lockhart, who once served as the press secretary for President Clinton. “It’s a common tactic to attempt to prove the innocence of the accused by discrediting the victim — in this case Ms. Thompson — when coming forward to report such abuse. Common or not, these tactics are shameful. Efforts to shame and blame victims are often what prevent people to report violence and/or seek help in the first place.”
It didn’t take long for Lockhart’s words to travel from the NFL offices at 345 Park Avenue in Manhattan to the NFLPA’s offices on 20th Street NW in D.C.
The union fired back: “The public statement issued on behalf of every NFL owner is a lie. The NFLPA categorically denies the accusations made in this statement. We know the League office has a history of being exposed for its lack of credibility. This is another example of the NFL’s hypocrisy on display and an attempt to create a sideshow to distract from their own failings in dealing with such serious issues. They should be ashamed for stooping to new lows.”
The union appealed Elliott’s suspension Tuesday and it will be heard Aug. 29. The NFL Network reported that Goodell, as is his right in the CBA, has decided to step aside and not be the appeal officer. He has designated Harold Henderson, the former executive director of the NFL Management Council, to rule on Elliott’s appeal.
Goodell was the appeals officer in the Brady/Deflategate case two years ago and upheld the four-game suspension he handed out, although the league tried to convince everyone the suspension was initially decided upon by Troy Vincent, the vice president of football operations.
Elliott is more likely to get a reduction in his suspension from Henderson since Goodell is not about to overrule himself. It would be difficult for Goodell to walk back a domestic violence suspension. It’s the issue that got him in deep trouble two years ago when he initially was too lenient with Ray Rice, leading to his establishing a six-game baseline suspension for domestic violence.
Even if Henderson cuts two games off the suspension should Elliott present crucial new evidence, it’s not likely Henderson will vacate the suspension entirely. The next step: Elliott will probably sue the NFL and at least try to get a preliminary injunction putting the suspension on hold and allowing him to play until the case is heard.
By waiting so long to finally rule on Elliott, the NFL may have left him an opening to get the suspension put on hold for at least the early part of the season, since it’s unlikely there would be enough time to get it resolved in court before the season starts. That means there is still a chance Elliott will play in the Sept. 10 season opener against the Giants. But the suspension could also come late in the season and impact the playoffs.
In the meantime, the league office and the NFLPA will just continue to sling accusations at each other.