Ezekiel Elliott’s rookie season has been amazing. He came into Sunday night’s game as the NFL’s leading rusher, and an MVP candidate.
Ezekiel Elliott hopped inside a giant red Salvation Army kettle, and the NFL is fine with it
Elliott was penalized, which is lame. But he won’t get a fine.
Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images
The Cowboys got the football after a Jameis Winston fumble, and drove up the field. Elliott capped off their drive with a touchdown, and celebrated by running and jumping into the Salvation Army pot behind the end zone.
Elliott was flagged for the celebration, because the pot is technically a prop.
After the game, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said, ”I thought it was creative, but he shouldn’t have done it.”
“You have to understand what’s legal and what’s illegal. You can jump into the stands in Green Bay, but you can’t jump into the Salvation Army bucket in Dallas.”
Jerry Jones had a slightly different take than Garrett, however.
“The Salvation Army should give him the highest award,” Jones said. “My dream is that the NFL would fine the daylights out of me and I’m going to take ‘em to the Supreme Court. And we’re gonna get the Salvation Army a lot of notice.”
The Salvation Army also seemed pleased with Zeke:
Elliott’s explanation for the celebration was simple enough. He said he wanted to support the Salvation Army, but also, the kettle was sitting right there.
“In warmups I saw it sitting there right by the end zone and I was like, man somebody’s got to jump in there. So I just had to do it.”
Funny enough, Elliott isn’t the first to do this. Terrell Owens did the exact same thing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10 years ago on Thanksgiving.
The good news is that Roger Goodell has decided not to be a Grinch about it. The NFL said Monday morning that Elliott will not be fined for the incident.
