The NFL is firing back at what they consider victim-blaming in the case of Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The league just put out a statement from executive vice president of communications Joe Lockhart which pointed the blame directly at the players union for spreading the information.
“Over the past few days we’ve received multiple reports of the NFLPA spreading derogatory information to the media about the victim in Ezekiel Elliott discipline case,” the statement read. “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 from coming forward to report violence and/or seek help in the first place.”
It’s a pretty bold move for the league to lay claim to the high ground, and to directly implicate the NFLPA in the process, by suggesting they’re the source of such reports as the one which portrayed Tiffany Thompson as extorting Elliott with a sex tape.