DeMaurice Smith Questions Why Ezekiel Elliott Investigation Took So Long
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith discussed Ezekiel Elliott's six game suspension that was handed down by the NFL on Friday morning in an interview with the MMQB's Albert Breer.
Elliot was suspended after multiple domestic violence incidents that amount to a violation of the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.
The league announced the news on Friday after multiple reports indicated he would miss time. Six games has been the league’s standard for a domestic violence punishment. The NFL cited an extensive investigation into the matter and found “substantive and persuasive” evidence that Elliott was physically abusive toward his ex-girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson.
Smith said he had not yet read the full decision but discussed how long the investigation took with Breer on SI Now.
"I do know that the Ezekiel Elliot investigation now has to be over a year old," Smith says. "I know that it resulted in a 165-page report and probably hundreds of thousands of billable hours by league personnel. I just have a hard time understanding how come an investigation takes a year, results in a 165-page report and takes so long and so many person hours. As a homicide prosecutor and violent crimes prosecutor, I had to try a violent offender or a murderer 100 days after arrest or the person goes free. I know there's a couple of prosecutors that are working with the league on these personal conduct issues but I gotta tell ya there's a whole group of prosecutors and law enforcement folks laughing at them going, 'Why does it take so long?'"
