Ezekiel Elliott celebrated a touchdown and a good cause after his short score early in the second quarter.
After punching it in from two yards out, the star rookie running back hopped into the Salvation Army kettle sitting behind the endzone at AT&T Stadium. See the video here.
TOUCHDOWN, @ezekielelliott! #DallasCowboys https://t.co/xGqO4TGHe6
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2016It just so happened that the touchdown also gave Elliott the Cowboys record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a rookie.
Elliott was penalized since the kettle was a “prop” for the celebration -- a 15-yard penalty assessed on the ensuing kickoff.
Everyone loved the celebration, from the roaring crowd to Elliott’s teammates to the commentators, who noted that even the referees were laughing about the stunt.
“There should be a charitable exemption in the rule book,” commentator Chris Collinsworth said on the broadcast. “If you’re doing something for charity, then that shouldn’t be a foul.”
Elliott said Sunday he would match whatever fine the NFL gives him and donate it to the Salvation Army. But after the NFL said Monday he wouldn't be fined, he vowed to donate to the charity anyway.
for those wondering, no fine for last nite's @SalvationArmyUS Kettle Hop by @EzekielElliott
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) December 19, 2016
Even though I will not be fined I still will be making a donation to the @SalvationArmyUS pic.twitter.com/AMJ1gSuse3
— Ezekiel Elliott (@EzekielElliott) December 19, 2016
The Salvation Army kettles grace the sidelines at Cowboys home games during the holiday season as part of a longstanding partnership between the team and the charity.
Salvation Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ron Busroe sent the following statement to News 8 Monday after the organization saw a 61 percent spike in donations compared to a week prior:
The Salvation Army was given a wonderful gift last night when Ezekiel Elliott chose to jump in the end zone’s red kettle, which is on display as part of our longtime partnership with the Dallas Cowboys. As a result, we saw a 61 percent increase in online donations from when Ezekiel jumped into the kettle through mid-Monday morning, as compared to last Sunday. We hope the awareness raised will inspire people to learn more about The Salvation Army at redkettlereason.org, donate online or drop donations into the kettles before the campaign concludes on Christmas Eve. Donations are critical to achieving our goal of helping more than 25 million people each year. We are grateful to the Dallas Cowboys and Mr. Elliott for giving us a boost at such an important time for our organization.