Will it matter to NFL that Ezekiel Elliott's bar altercation case is suspended?

Whatever happened with Ezekiel Elliott at a Dallas bar on Sunday night, he won’t face any legal trouble over it.

Whether he finds himself in any more trouble with the NFL over that incident could be a different question.

Police decided Wednesday to suspend the investigation of the incident ”due to the lack of a complaint,” which essentially means there were not enough witnesses and therefore no grounds for taking any legal action against Elliott.

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The NFL has ignored that before. In one notable example, Greg Hardy was cleared in a domestic violence case when the accuser refused to testify, but the NFL suspended Hardy 10 games (later reduced to four) anyway. Hardy’s situation isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison to whatever Elliott did, but it’s a reminder the NFL has often given out punishments even when the legal system hasn’t.

Elliott was reportedly already being considered for a suspension for numerous off-field incidents before the alleged bar altercation on Sunday night. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports listed all the issues. If the NFL suspends Elliott, it might not have anything to do with the reported and alleged bar altercation. But it might not help Elliott’s case, either.

For now Elliott won’t face any legal problems for whatever happened. Now he waits to hear from the NFL.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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