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Ezekiel Elliott

Ezekiel Elliott’s Salvation Army kettle celebration generates huge donation spike

Odell Beckham Jr. wonders why Elliott wasn’t fined

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    By @seanahurd

    It was no Lambeau Leap, but it was still plenty entertaining.

    Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott made waves Sunday night when he leapt into an oversized Salvation Army kettle at AT&T Stadium after rushing for a touchdown in the Cowboys’ 26-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – essentially donating himself to the cause.

    Twitter, as expected, wasted no time poking fun at Elliott’s touchdown celebration.

     

    What Elliott could not have predicted was the response his gesture would generate for the Salvation Army.

    Salvation Army Lt. Col. Ron Busroe said that in the 24 hours following Elliott’s leap, the organization raised $180,971 in donations. Busroe told CNBC that many of the donations have come in increments of $21 – the number Elliott wears for the Cowboys. ESPN senior writer Darren Rovell reported that Elliott’s kettle jump was the equivalent of $4 million in ad exposure for the organization.

    But not everyone was as happy as the Salvation Army. New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. took to Twitter on Monday after learning that Elliott would not be fined – despite being flagged for excessive celebration Monday night. Beckham Jr. clarified that his problem was not with Elliott, but with what he said was a lack of standards set by the NFL.

     

     

    Through Week 13, Beckham Jr. has been fined on five different occasions by the NFL for a total $108,926. His lone fine for excessive celebration was in Week 1 against, you guessed it, the Dallas Cowboys, after he acted as a photographer for Victor Cruz when Cruz scored a touchdown and performed his signature salsa dance.

    A few hours after Beckham spoke his piece, Elliott, who had tweeted early Monday morning that he planned on donating to the Salvation Army in light of the NFL’s decision not to fine him, announced that he planned to donate $21,000 to the Salvation Army and encouraged fans to make a contribution of $21 apiece.

     

    So what say you? Does OBJ have a point?

    Sean Hurd is a writer for Andscape who primarily covers women’s basketball. His athletic peak came at the age of 10 when he was named camper of the week at a Josh Childress basketball camp.

    This Story Tagged: Odell Beckham Jr. Salvation Army NFL Dallas Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott