There has been many a rumor regarding Ezekiel Elliott and his time off the field at Ohio State. According to one report, the former Buckeyes All-American, at least in general, confirmed some of that speculation.
Now a Dallas Cowboys running back, Elliott was slapped with a six-game suspension earlier this month for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, a violation that was connected to domestic violence allegations levied against him in the summer of 2016. In addition to appealing the punitive measure earlier this week, Elliott, with the help of the NFL Players Association, filed a lawsuit seeking to have the suspension vacated.
The petition to vacate the decision became public Friday, with the Dallas Morning News reporting that, while under oath and being cross-examined by an NFL attorney during the appeal, Elliott acknowledged doing drugs while he was a member of the OSU football team. From the Morning News’ report:
ATTORNEY: And like to get drunk?
ELLIOTT: Yes.
ATTORNEY: You like to do drugs?
ELLIOTT: I did in college.
Elliott never specified what drugs he used while with the Buckeyes. Elliott’s former girlfriend at the center of the domestic allegations, Tiffany Thompson, told NFL investigators a year ago, the newspaper writes, “that Elliott was using cocaine and marijuana two months before the Cowboys drafted him fourth overall.”
At least publicly, there’s been no confirmation that Elliott ever failed a drug test while at OSU.
Elliott led the Buckeyes in rushing his last two seasons with the program, churning out 1,878 yards in OSU’s national championship season in 2014 -- 696 of those yards came in the Big Ten title game and two College Football Playoff games -- and following that up with 1,871 in 2015. After leaving early for the NFL, Elliott was the fourth-overall pick of the 2016 draft.