Cowboys Garrett Voices Support For Ezekiel Elliott
By Mike Fisher
FRISCO (105.3 The Fan) - While Ezekiel Elliott deals with life as a "rock star,'' Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said on Wednesday that the team preaches "responsibility'' and "believes very strongly in (Elliott) as a person.''
As 105.3 The Fan was first to report, Elliott was involved in a Sunday evening bar altercation that figures to escalate the NFL's concerns about his off-field behaviors.
"I don't want to make any comment on the situation," Garrett said. "We're still gathering information on what that whole situation was. (But) Zeke is someone we believe very strongly in as a person and as a football player. We're going to continue to believe in him and try to put a structure around him and all of our players to help them make great decisions and grow – grow on and off the field."
That view echoes what Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said 24 before, when he stressed that Ellliott much "evolve'' into understanding not just the benefits but also the pitfalls of life as a "rock star.''
Jones indicated he's had a conversation with Elliott, who a year ago as a rookie won the NFL rushing title. Garrett said he will "have a chance to visit with him and other (players) starting on Friday. Our players will be back in. We'll have physicals Friday morning and we'll have our first day of training camp here (at The Star) on Friday before we go out to California (for the full training camp.)''
Sources tell 105.3 The Fan that Elliott and the Cowboys were preparing a presentation to the NFL concerning his "accumulation of behaviors'' that could cause him to face NFL punishment. As Elliott prepares to turn 22 this week, Dallas now has another behavior … along with publicly-stated support of its young star.
