Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t say much (relatively speaking) when it comes to running back Ezekiel Elliott’s ongoing suspension situation. He usually says he’s got nothing to say, before saying plenty.
“I don’t want to make the comment, and I know y’all can imagine with all that we have flying around the courtrooms and the basic hearing rooms,” Jones said when asked about Elliott during his Tuesday visit with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “That would be one I’d pass on this morning. I’ll have more news for you as we get into the week.”
Jones also was asked whether he expects a decision on Tuesday.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I can give you reasons. We spent time on this the last few days. Timing, as it turns out, is a pretty critical component here in terms of the ambiguity for lack of a better word. There’s a lot of things that impact availability relative to timing both places at the hearing and the court level. And I know -- I’m just being redundant with what you guys know -- but I really, when you really think hard about it, you don’t know timing wise. But a lot clears up over the next 24 to 36 hours.”
Jones also made reference once again to his concerns with the league’s decision to trump the criminal justice system and conduct its own investigations regarding allegations of misconduct.
“Two years ago or a year and a half ago Zeke wouldn’t even be involved with the issue of domestic violence as far as the NFL’s concerned,” Jones said. “And so just think about that one. When you get into definitions, I don’t want to in any way look like to go light on the gravity of the situation and the victim, but we all can see that trying to figure out victims in these ‘he said, she said’ things are tough.”
Jones probably meant to say three years ago. That’s when the Ray Rice case nearly brought down the house, and when the league decided to no longer follow the lead of the court system. Pre-Rice, a player who wasn’t arrested or charged faced no scrutiny at all. Now, the league will conduct its own investigation, with a reduced standard of proof and (based on Elliott’s case) deeply flawed and unfair procedures.
UPDATE 12:33 p.m. ET: A prior version of this post, based on a transcript of Jones’ appearance that was circulated to Cowboys beat writers, indicated that Jones said he would have “good news,” not “more news.” Jones actually said “more news.” His comments are still news, just not as big of news as they would have been if he’d said “good news.”