During the Dallas Cowboys' training camp opening press conference in Oxnard, California, owner Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones and head coach Jason Garrett reaffirmed their confidence in running back Ezekiel Elliott.
"We believe in Zeke Elliott," Garrett said. "We believe very strongly in Zeke as a person and as a football player. We did our due diligence on him. We know everything about him and his background going back to high school, going back to Pop Warner football through high school, through college. We feel very strongly about the kind of person he is and certainly the kind of football player he is. We wouldn't have drafted him where we drafted him if we didn't believe that.
"Having said that, he's not perfect, he makes mistakes -- we all make mistakes. It's incumbent upon all of us, everybody in our organization -- coaches, players -- everybody who is connected with Zeke to help him understand the importance of making good decisions. We're going to help him grow that way -- just like we will every player on our team."
The NFL Players Association recently filed to the NFL what the union, Elliott and his representatives hope is a final response that answers any lingering questions remaining in the league's year-long investigation into the Cowboys player, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport and NFL Network's Tom Peliserro.
The NFL launched its investigation soon after a woman claiming to be Elliott's ex-girlfriend filed a police report in Columbus, Ohio, on July 22, 2016 alleging Elliott assaulted her over several days last July. Elliott was never arrested and the Columbus City Attorney's Office declined to file charges, citing conflicting and inconsistent information. Elliott spoke to league investigators last fall and has expressed frustration the NFL's probe hasn't concluded, as have his attorney and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
"I've reviewed everything," Jerry Jones said of the investigation. "There is absolutely nothing, not one thing that I've seen that has anything to do with domestic violence."
