All three of these things can be true.
People will lie about domestic violence to protect a spouse or significant other.
People can be a victim of domestic violence and also lie about domestic violence.
People can just straight up lie about domestic violence to hurt their spouse or significant other.
In the Reuben Foster case, it is about determining what has exactly been happening between him and his accuser Elissa Ennis. Both of their stories have been all over the place and the one thing that is clear is that their relationship is toxic and that led to the encounter in Tampa where Ennis accuses Foster of slapping her.
Ennis went on Good Morning America to explain her side of the story and why she should be believed now when she admitted in court she lied before. It appears the new fight was because of her threatening to tell his new girlfriend he flew her out. Ms. Ennis has spent time in jail in the past for falsely accusing another boyfriend.
The alleged domestic violence incident that ended Foster’s career in San Francisco happened last month, after Foster invited Ennis to Florida so they could work on their relationship, she said.
A heated argument with Ennis allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation, in which Foster allegedly slapped Ennis’s “phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area and slapped her with an open hand on the right side of her face, according to a criminal report affidavit obtained by ABC News. Officers observed an inch-long scratch on the side of Ennis’s left collarbone and took Foster into custody, police said. He was later released on $2,000 bail.
The fight began after Ennis told Foster, who was seeing other people at that point, that she was going to tell his new girlfriend that he paid for her flight to Florida, she told ABC News.
In February, Foster was arrested at his home in Los Gatos, California, near San Jose, on the suspicion that he battered Ennis, who initially told police that he hit her at least 10 times, dragged her out of the house, threw her on the ground, spit on her, broke her phone and threw their bulldog on her, according to the Los Gatos/Monte Sereno Police Department.
Ennis later told a judge during a court hearing that she concocted the story in an attempt to ruin Foster’s career as part of a “money scheme” to try to “sue him on [her] own,” and the domestic violence charges were dismissed.
When asked why she decided to recant her story, Ennis said, “Because I loved him, and love will have you doin’ things that’s not in your best interests.”
She later added, “I did what I had to do for the person I love. I thought that he would change.”
The Redskins and I have been told the 49ers believed what happened in Tampa doesn’t match up with Ennis is saying. That could just be the NFL likes to turn a blind eye to things like this, but until the legal proceedings play out we won’t know for sure.
What is painfully obvious is that Foster and Ennis aren’t good for each other and should stay far away from each other.
If Foster has even done a fraction of what he is being accused of he deserves to be in jail, but because of the recanting for some that is some reasonable doubt and that is why he is on a team right now.
Flip the page for video of Ms. Ennis on GMA and photos of her injuries.