Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott recently drew attention on Twitch when he forgot to end his Livestream before saying that he “was faded.” Sports Illustrated and many social media users said that this was an admission of being high, but Elliott denied these claims. He said that faded only referred to being under the influence of alcohol. He also threatened legal action against the magazine.
“Actually I was referring to the few drinks I had which I said during the live stream. Doesn’t that make this defamation? You guys will [be] hearing from my lawyers @SInow,” Elliott tweeted on Monday. Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated previously ran an opinion piece with the headline: “Ezekiel Elliott Forgets to Log Off, Admits to Being High on Twitch: Traina Thoughts.” The running back responded and said that he expects headlines like this from “little gossip sites,” but not Sports Illustrated.
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Following the string of tweets, Sports Illustrated deleted the original story from the website. They later posted it again, albeit with a slight change. The headline no longer said that Elliott “admits to being high” and instead said that he was “faded.” The article also included a correction and an apology.
“Correction: Elliott responded to our original story and said ‘faded’ referred to a few drinks he had while streaming. A previous version of this story included a headline with an incorrect interpretation of Elliott’s meaning of ‘faded.’ We apologize and regret the error,” Sports Illustrated wrote.
This is the latest incident involving Elliott during a very unique offseason. He and quarterback Dak Prescott drew criticism after they allegedly took part in a massive birthday celebration. Although the pair responded to the reports by saying that fewer than 10 people attended. Weeks later, Elliott was one of several Texas-based football players to test positive for COVID-19. He was the only one identified after an unnamed person leaked his information to the media. Elliott responded and expressed anger about his private patient details becoming public knowledge. He is still recovering and reportedly cannot work out just yet.
Most recently, a pool cleaner filed a lawsuit after Elliott’s dogs allegedly attacked and bit her in March. TMZ reports that the woman claims that a rottweiler and two bulldogs “ambushed” her and bit her arm and legs. She is reportedly seeking money in the range of $200,000 to $1 million. “Ezekiel was in no way negligent in connection with the alleged incident and intends to vigorously defend the lawsuit,” Elliott’s lawyer Frank Salzano responded.
