Late August is a time of anticipation for football fans as the college season prepares to kick off and the pro football preseason winds down. Despite it’s many flaws, thugs and overpaid Prima Donnas as well as the ongoing corporatization of the game, the NFL is still the choice of die-hards when it comes to an avenue of escape from the miserable realities of life. But along with the box scores comes the police blotter upon which will land an inevitable array of chuckleheads who despite their high-paying dream gigs just can’t manage to stay out of trouble.

There is already a breakaway leader for rookie dumbass of the year award and that goes to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott who chose to take advantage of a trip to the Emerald City to visit a marijuana store before Thursday’s exhibition game against the Seattle Seahawks.

ESPN reported on the incident in the story “Jerry Jones: Ezekiel Elliott’s pot dispensary visit ‘just not “good’”:

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was not pleased to see a video on TMZ that appeared to show Ezekiel Elliott at a marijuana dispensary hours before the rookie running back was set to make his preseason debut.

In the video, a man the website reported to be Elliott was seen in Herban Legends in Seattle, but he was not shown making any purchases.

“Well, I think that in and of itself the reason we are talking about is in a way part of the learning process,” Jones said after the Cowboys’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday. “But it’s not good. It’s just not good. It’s just not good.”

Marijuana remains a banned substance in the NFL, though its recreational use is legal in the state of Washington.

Elliott carried the ball seven times for 48 yards in the first quarter.

While it is legal to buy weed in Washington State it’s still a big no-no with the league and while Elliott isn’t expecting to face disciplinary action for his presumed puffing of the magic dragon – at least for now – you can rest assured that he’s on Roger Goodell’s radar. Elliott’s piss-poor judgement also potentially has him facing domestic abuse charges for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend. With the league’s big annual pander-fest to female fans upcoming – pink gear and all – Goodell will come down like a load of bricks on woman beaters.

Not at all a good omen for the Cowboys who are looking to rebound from last year’s 4-12 cataclysm that put them in position to snag the Ohio State Buckeye star with the number four pick in the draft as the answer to their running back woes.