Yesterday, Florida officials dropped all charges in Reuben Foster’s domestic abuse case. Foster’s ex-girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, alleged that during an incident back on November 4th, Foster punched her in the face, and also took her phone.
The couple was on the outs at the time, but at Foster’s behest, Ennis flew out to visit him while he stayed at a Florida hotel. She says things went south when she told Foster that she would tell his “current” girlfriend about their meeting at the hotel. She also added that she would let the girlfriend know he paid for her flight. Check the video from a GMA interview she did back in December…
Just after charges the charges against Foster were dismissed, TMZ released photos of Ennis’ bruises from the incident. See them…
As discussed in the clip, The San Francisco 49ers dumped Reuben Foster quickly after the revelations from Ennis’ accusations were reported. However head scratching, just days later, the Washington Redskins picked Foster up on a $9 million multi-year deal. Ms. Ennis was miffed and could not understand how such a thing could happen, so soon after she brought charges against him.
You might ask yourselves, just as Ms. Ennis asked… why? A bit of context is needed…
This is Elissa Ennis walking out of a Santa Clara, California Superior Court hearing in March….
In that court hearing, she testified, under oath, to a real live judge, that she had lied about an earlier incident of domestic violence concerning Reuben Foster. At the time, Santa Clara officials maintained that they believed Ennis had suffered domestic violence at the hands of Foster, but if a witness recants her story on the stand, their hands are tied.
In the case in Santa Clara, the charges against Reuben Foster were dropped. Now, just months later, another case involving the same two litigants has also been dropped. It looks like Ms. Ennis has a very real credibility problem. Sadly, abuse victims are often coaxed into lying to protect their abusers. However, it’s one thing to lie to family, friends, or even police, but when you provide false testimony in a courtroom, that can be a very real problem for you.
It may be that she has even more evidence to back up what she says happened in their relationship. For now though, it appears the NFL and prosecutors in Florida aren’t quite convinced anymore. We’ll be watching to see how this circumstance shapes up because this is probably not the last word.
The NFL does not want more problems when it comes to domestic violence – we get it. However, far more importantly, victims need to be believed and always protected.
Until next time friends, peace.
