Ezekiel Elliott: Accuser Said, “You are a black male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to believe you.”
As Ezekiel Elliott prepares to appeal his six-game suspension from the NFL, information has come out that his side presumably believes will make him a sympathetic case.
Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a series of bullet points from Elliott’s appeal plan that seek to call into question his accuser’s reliability, including text messages (which we have already seen) in which the accuser purportedly encouraged her friend to lie about alleged domestic incidents, “misleading” testimony to the NFL’s investigator Lisa Friel, and “repeated” threats to ruin the running back’s career.
For example:
"▪ The report also details a text message in which Thompson told Elliott: “You better be smart. And not be a dumb man.” ▪ After not being allowed in the after party, she was heard yelling and screaming that “your career is over” and then proceeded to call the police. ▪ Elliott is also “100 percent certain” Thompson told him on July 22, “You are a black male athlete. I’m a white girl. They are not going to be believe you.”"
This may have an impact in the court of public opinion, but it is presumably all things that were told to the NFL by Elliott and/or his representatives during the initial investigation process. Given that the NFL will also be hearing the appeal, it remains to be seen whether Elliott will be able to sway them at all to either shorten or eliminate his suspension.