Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Cowboys owner Jones speaks to Elliott over off-field behavior


LOS ANGELES -- Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday he has spoken to Ezekiel Elliott following a slew of negative headlines relating to the star running back.

Elliott, who is facing possible sanctions from the NFL regarding a domestic violence case, was embroiled in further controversy at the weekend after being linked to a bar altercation that left a bouncer with a broken nose.

The 21-year-old was not arrested in the latest incident on Sunday and was not named in a police report.

However several US media outlets citing witnesses have said Elliott was involved in the bar fight.

   
Jones told ESPN on Tuesday he had spoken to Elliott but declined to get into specific details of their conversation.

However he described the running back as a "rock star" struggling to adjust to the celebrity which accompanied his stellar rookie year last season.

"As you well know, because of his style and personality, it's like a rock star wherever he goes in terms of attention," Jones said.

"Anybody that's experienced that knows that takes getting used to. You have to learn many aspects of that. Certainly, Zeke is evolving and being subject to needing to learn how to deal with the media and social media the way it is today."

Several other Cowboys players have ran into disciplinary issues during the off-season. Jones appealed to players to consider the effect on the team of individual indiscretions.

"I think the biggest message is not one that has to be stated, and that is your actions impact an entire team, it impacts an entire fan base," Jones said.

"There's a lot of responsibility there. Then I think to the team it's a reminder of the interest that's in your actions and your behavior, and it's not dissimilar from the message that you have when you sit down with a child and a young person when you're talking about how they represent everybody.

"The message is really pretty simple, and it's one that you would naturally see: Try to think about your activities when you're involved in them."

source: news.abs-cbn.com