Ezekiel Elliott tweets he's 'surprised and disappointed' by 6-game suspension

The NFL weighed in on Friday morning, his attorneys weighed in on Friday afternoon, and on Friday night, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott posted a statement of his own on his Twitter account addressing the six-game suspension he received from the NFL.

“I am both surprised and disappointed by the NFL’s decision today, and I strongly disagree with the league’s findings,” the statement reads.

“I recognize the distraction and disruption that all of this has caused my family, friends, teammates, the Dallas Cowboys organization as well as my fans – for that I am sincerely sorry.

“I admit that I am far from perfect, but I plan to continue to work very hard, on and off the field, to mature and earn the great opportunity that I have been given.”

After a year-long investigation, the NFL officially announced Elliott’s suspension on Friday morning. Though prosecutors in Columbus, Ohio did not file criminal charges against Elliott for his alleged incidents of physical violence against his then-girlfriend, the league cited photographic evidence provided by the victim, interviews with numerous witnesses including the victim, and text messages and other communications as factors that led to its decision.

The league determined there was enough evidence to suspend Elliott under the personal conduct policy. Elliott’s attorneys, as expected, said they would be appealing the suspension.

Yahoo’s Charles Robinson, citing a source close to Elliott, said the player may challenge the ruling all the way to the courts. But as we learned during Tom Brady’s fight against NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the league during deflate-gate, Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement gives Goodell a great deal of latitude when it comes to player discipline not specifically outlined in the CBA.