Ezekiel Elliott found himself in continual controversy over the off-season.
Most of the Ezekiel Elliott coverage over the past month has centered around the NFL’s punishment. What is sometimes lost is the actual person behind the domestic violence allegations against Elliott.
TIffany Thompson, Elliott’s ex-girlfriend, has painted a sobering picture of one of the NFL’s most talented young running backs. There is a reason the NFL suspended Elliott for six games, and fans would be wise to consider all the information that has been released over the past year.
The nature of Elliott and Thompson’s relationship has been debated by both parties. If you believe Elliott’s testimony, Thompson is attempting to tarnish his name out of jealousy. However, Thompson paints a different picture both in her interview with NFL investigators as well as photos of bruises she posted on social media.
Since details about the NFL investigation and Elliott’s appeal have been made public, here is what we know about their relationship.
1. The NFL Denied Elliott’s Request to Have Thompson Testify During Appeal
Elliott’s representation put in a request to have Thompson testify during his appeal of the six-game suspension. Elliott’s team believed they could poke holes in Thompson’s testimony, but were not able to do so after the league denied their request.
Pro Football Talk noted the arbitrator did allow NFL director of investigations Kia Roberts to testify. Roberts interviewed Thompson as part of the NFL investigation of Elliott.
Elliott’s father, Stacy Elliott, posted the following screen shot of a Star-Telegram article detailing Elliott’s legal team’s plan to poke holes in Thompson as a reliable witness.
My son’s legal team is ready to fight! Let’s deal!!! You will know the set up and PLOT!
2. The Appeal Hearing Indicated Thompson Had a Relationship With Elliott’s Former Cowboys Teammate, Lucky Whitehead
Ezekiel Elliott pictured here with former teammate Lucky Whitehead.
According to the Dallas News, Roberts asked Thompson about her relationship with Lucky Whitehead during a November 30 interview. Thompson admitted the two had talked, but stopped short of admitting it was anything more than that. The Dallas News recounts Thompson’s thoughts on the matter.
‘He and I started talking over social media,’Thompson said in a part of the interview that became public record after Elliott and the NFL Players Association filed suit late Thursday. ‘We weren’t really dating. Ezekiel found out, and I blocked Lucky from my phone.’
Elliott explained his side of the story during the appeal hearing.
So, like I mentioned before, when Tiffany saw me doing well or just doing well without her, she did not like that and she would go through any measure to kind of ruin my moment or ruin what’s going on, and so particularly this moment was — after we had a big win verse the Steelers, and I had a very good game, and while I’m boarding the plane from Pittsburgh to Dallas, I received like 15 texts from an unknown number, and the texts were screen shots of text messages between Tiffany and one of my current teammates that play with me for the Cowboys. And then there was a picture of a hotel reservation which had her name and also his name on it. Basically, her telling me that she slept with one of my teammates the previous week while we were in Cleveland.
3. Documents Revealed Thompson Was Pregnant With Elliott’s Child
According to The Dallas News, documents released from Elliott’s appeal revealed Thompson became pregnant with Elliott’s child while she was visiting Elliott in Florida in February 2016. In his appeal testimony, Elliott said he believed Thompson became pregnant on purpose.
Elliott noted the two were not ready to be parents and discussed options to terminate the pregnancy. The documents show Thompson admitted to having an abortion in April 2016 around the time of the NFL draft.
The Dallas News reported Thompson told Roberts she was pregnant with twins, but lost one of the babies through a miscarriage. She said she terminated the pregnancy at ten weeks by taking two pills.
4. Thompson Posted Photos of Her Bruises on Instagram
Since news broke of Elliott’s suspension, some fans have voiced their support for Elliott with thoughts like “Free Zeke” or similar sentiments. One of the hard things for Elliott’s supporters to explain is the photos Thompson posted on her Instagram account.
Heavy details the photos here, but Thompson posted the photos in July 2016. They show bruises on her legs, arms, wrist and neck. In the Instagram caption, Thompson noted she posted the photos as a way to support other women who are in abusive relationships.
…I was picked up and thrown across the room by my arms. Thrown into walls. Being choked to where I have to gasp for breath. Bruised everywhere, mentally and physically abused. It’s not okay. So I want each and every one of you girls to step away now from domestic violence…
5. Thompson Had a Text Exchange With a Friend Where They Discussed Making Money Off a Sex Tape
Yahoo Sport’s Charles Robinson reported Thompson admitted to texting with a friend about the idea of blackmailing Elliott with a sex tape she possessed of the two of them.
Within that [NFL investigation] report, investigators noted a September 2016 text message exchange between Thompson and a friend, in which Thompson raised the idea of selling sex videos of herself and Elliott. During the conversation, Thompson’s friend suggested, ‘we could black mail him w[ith] that,’ to which Thompson responded, ‘I want to bro.’ The NFL’s report also stated that Thompson admitted registering an email address titled ‘ezekielelliott sex vids’ in August 2016.
While Thompson admitted to debating trying to get money for the tapes, she denied following through with it.