FRISCO, Texas — Ezekiel Elliott is the Dallas Cowboys’ nominee for the 2020 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. The award is given annually to an NFL player that represents exemplary on-field sportsmanship and integrity.
Previous nominees for Dallas include Byron Jones, Travis Frederick, Dak Prescott, Brandon Carr, and Sean Lee. Elliott now joins the elite club.
The award was established in 2014 and named in honor of Art Rooney Sr., the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Each NFL team receives one nominee for the prestigious award and a panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community selects eight finalists. The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when players vote on Dec. 18. From the picked finalists, each of their team’s players will formulate a consensus vote and submit a winner. Like Pro Bowl voting, each team cannot vote for its own player.
The winner will be announced as part of the NFL Honors ceremony and will receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a cause of his choosing.
Despite offensive injuries piling up around him and criticism surrounding a dip in stats and production, Elliott remains a leader and cornerstone for Dallas. He has not complained when the majority of the Cowboys’ offensive salary cap moved to the Reserve/Injured list and he continuously held himself accountable for the turnovers. He even gave a remorseful speech to the team following the loss to the Cardinals, claiming ‘this one’s on me’ after two costly fumbles.
That is the kind of response coaches are looking for from their featured back. He has played in all 11 games this season, battling through a hamstring injury. Elliott is obviously respected by his peers and is well deserving of the award this season.
Mike McCarthy summed up Elliott’s impact on the team and character better than anyone could. He told D210SPORTS, “Zeke [Elliott] has been so consistent from day one. You can see his personality as it fits with the football team. He’s definitely someone that people are attracted to. He helps the younger players. I’ve said it before- he sits in the front row in all the meetings. He goes to the quarterback-center meetings. He does all the little things that no one sees. I think definitely his ability as a football player; he would definitely fall in the category of making people better around him. He’s very versatile and definitely a key member of our football team.”
Congratulations No.21. He would be the youngest player to ever win the award.
