Columbus Radio Station 105.7 Alleges Ezekiel Elliott Refused to Take Pictures with Cancer Survivors on Buckeye Cruise

TMZ, America's paper of record, published a video Monday of former Ohio State and current Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is still under investigation by the NFL over domestic assault allegations, pulling a woman's top down during a St. Patrick's Day parade in Dallas last Saturday.

It added to the tumultuous offseason for Elliott. Columbus Police arrested his best friend, Alvarez Jackson, on weapons charges after Jackson brought a loaded Glock 9mm handgun into Park Street Patio in late February. TMZ Sports published a video of Elliott speaking to police shortly thereafter. All charges against Jackson were dropped.

Former Ohio State linebacker and current 105.7 FM host Chris Spielman lambasted Elliott on Thursday when he spoke to TMZ:

"I want people to stop saying he's a 'young man.' There comes a point in time when we all know right from wrong. At what point is it okay to pull some woman's shirt down in public?

"He is bringing this upon himself. Nobody is bringing this upon him. And he's not young. He is of the age where he knows right from wrong, so lets stop with the young card, I can't stand it. There are no more young cards.

"It's never okay to pull somebody's shirt down. That's insane to even justify that behavior. It's crazy."

Apparently 97.1 The Fan host Anthony Rothman and former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter defended Elliott on their Wednesday edition of Carpenter & Rothman.

This led to Ohio State fans starting an exchange with 105.7's Twitter account that ended with the radio station accusing Elliott of refusing to take pictures with cancer survivors on the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer.

@971CandR thanks for sticking up for @EzekielElliott against @1057TheZone for trying spread rumors and drama #971thebestsportsradio
— Brandon Weaver (@buckeyes01n15) March 16, 2017

...because @971CandR were on Buckeye Cruise and saw Zeke being a jerk. Why didn't they talk about it on air? #happytalk #nobadnews https://t.co/GpUAIISr0X
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

Rumors & drama? Head shop in Seattle, friend with loaded gun in bar, domestic violence investigation, rude on Cruise, pulling woman's shirt https://t.co/GpUAIISr0X
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

@1057TheZone @chris_spielman all the things you are saying @EzekielElliott has not been guilty of. If Twitter was out you wouldn't be clean
— TheeOSU90s (@TheeOSU90s) March 16, 2017

Laughable. https://t.co/JirEZGCUuM
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

@971thefan @1057TheZone Buckeyes VS Buckeyes not a good thing guys. Talk about it and moving on. https://t.co/bhZbq0HjOM
— TheeOSU90s (@TheeOSU90s) March 16, 2017

So you'd have @chris_spielman soft-pedal exposing a woman in public??? Do you know Chris Spielman AT ALL!!!! #getaclue. https://t.co/eVZVluuTRS
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

@1057TheZone @971CandR Because it's not sports? March Madness, CBJ, Spring Training going on and @1057TheZone opened with TMZ. I turned you off.
— Milo Gibaldi (@Milo_Gibaldi) March 16, 2017

Zeke Elliott's nonsense leads ESPN, Fox, TMZ and it's "not sports." He's embarrassing himself & #OSU & damaging Urban's rep https://t.co/3fxw2Wr9a2
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

@1057TheZone @chris_spielman Yes I do love C.Spielman he's one I patent after Buckeye family would love to get his take on Rob Gronkowski
— TheeOSU90s (@TheeOSU90s) March 16, 2017

If he commented on every partying player, we'd never get to local sports talk. Zeke is local, hence TMZ reached out to @chris_spielman https://t.co/RRir62xgiG
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

Was Urban's reputation ruined when he was at the University of Florida. Do research those players compared to @EzekielElliott #BuckeyeFamily https://t.co/bLqmUHVP6F
— TheeOSU90s (@TheeOSU90s) March 16, 2017

Did you miss all the stories about all the arrests at Florida when Urb was there? This stuff lands on the coach. Unfair, but it does. https://t.co/QHQLhvbvcS
— 105.7 The Zone (@1057TheZone) March 16, 2017

Elliott's father, Stacy, who is colloquially known as "The Ambassador" within the Ohio State program, defended his son hours later:

@chris_spielman was you on the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer No! Why? Umm! Keep my son out your mouth! Rumors aren't acceptable! #GoBucks!
— Ambassador Elliott (@stacy_elliott) March 16, 2017

Likewise, Lisa Cisco, president of the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer, released the following statement to Eleven Warriors:

I just wanted to tell you as the founder of the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer, Zeke did not refuse photos or autographs from cancer survivors. I also know that people reporting these rumors were not even on the ship. I also talked with Michael Babcock of TMZ and they NEVER reported anything on Zeke about the Buckeye Cruise. Zeke did everything asked of him and more while he attended the 2017 Buckeye Cruise. Zeke helped raise more than $2.5 million dollars in the fight against cancer for the Urban and Shelley Meyer Fund for Cancer Research at the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Please also note that these athletes take time out of their very busy lives to do this.