FORT WORTH, Texas — Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is fighting back against a Las Vegas security guard who has pressed charges against him for an alleged assault in May.
Per Enzo Marino of Fox 5 Las Vegas, Kyle Johnson has pressed charges with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department against Elliott for allegedly bumping him into a fence at a music festival May 19.
Elliott was cuffed and detained but not arrested in the incident. No charges were filed by the Las Vegas police department. And none were expected to be.
Now that Johnson has decided to file charges, Elliott and his lawyers are fighting back, accusing Johnson of extortion.
“Over the course of the past several weeks, Mr. Elliott has been the target of extortion,” Elliott’s lawyers Scott Rosenblum and Jason Lampert said. “Kyle Johnson’s filing of a criminal complaint against Mr. Elliott in connection with the Las Vegas incident is the latest attempt to do so. Mr. Elliott and his team are in contact with all of the proper authorities and are fully cooperating with them in their investigations.”
Per sources, Elliott apologized to Johnson after the incident and even took a picture with him.
At the time, Johnson said he was unsure if he would press charges but was seeking a sincere apology from Elliott.
The incident was investigated by the NFL, and the league ruled Elliott would not be suspended because he did not violate the league’s personal conduct policy.
Elliott offered a message of contrition on social media and promised he would make better decisions.
But he did not give a new apology to Johnson, who, according to Elliott’s lawyers, has been trying to extort him.
Until the Las Vegas incident, Elliott hadn’t had an off-field issue since 2017.
This offseason was particularly noteworthy considering the two-time NFL rushing champion had shown leadership and commitment to his teammates by being part of the captains’ workouts and conditioning program despite his desires for a new contract.
He visited a local fire department, comforted a kid who was hit by a puck at hockey playoff game and paid for the funeral of a youth football player from the St. Louis area.
The meeting with Goodell came just days after Elliott held a free football camp in St. Louis, where he met the mother of the slain youth football star for the first time.
A show of contrition was enough for Elliott to stay on the field in 2019.
But now he will possibly have a fight or two in court.
Elliott and the Cowboys report to training camp July 25 in Oxnard, Calif.