Jerry Jones happy Cowboys stand together for anthem
Count Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones among those disappointed that some NFL players are using the national anthem before games as a time to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the controversy in the preseason by sitting during the national anthem. He now takes a knee during the anthem, and others have shown support. Some NFL players raised their fists during the anthem this weekend, including Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and Los Angeles Rams defensive end Robert Quinn.
But nobody on the Cowboys has protested during the anthem, something that has pleased the owner.
“I applaud our players, our team,” Jones said Tuesday on his radio show on KRLD/105.3 FM The Fan. “I applaud Jason Witten as far as his energy. But I’ve got to give a big pat on the back to our entire team, our coaching staff, our entire organization. We strongly, strongly support the flag in every way we support — and it’s almost ridiculous to be saying — the people that for generations and generations that have given it all up so that we can get out here and show off in front of millions of people on television.
“We respect that so much. That’s the real business. The forum of the NFL and the forum of television is a very significant thing.
“And I’m for it being used in every way we can to support the great, great contributors in our society. And that’s people that have supported America, the flag, and there’s no reason to not go all out there. And for anybody to use parts of that visibility to do otherwise is really disappointing.”
The Star
So you don’t believe the hype surrounding The Star in Frisco? Now you can see it for yourself.
The Cowboys will host an open house to introduce the public to the facility from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Billed as The Star Community Day, the open house and parking is free and will showcase the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters.
But don’t expect to see any players. The Cowboys are playing at the Washington Redskins at noon Sunday.
Sunlight talk
Nobody denies that the sun impacted the Cowboys in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-19 loss to the New York Giants.
Wide receiver Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten were both unable to make catches because they were blinded by the sun.
Can coach Jason Garrett do anything to game-plan for the sun?
Garrett doesn’t think so, considering when it doesn’t affect the receivers looking back into the sun it will affect the quarterback or kicker facing it.
“Yeah, the sun’s been there for 5 billion years and it will be there for 5 billion more,” Garrett said. “My experience has been that it’s a factor for both teams and everybody who’s out there.”
There are curtains at the stadium that are used during concerts to block out the sun. The organization has never drawn them during football games.
How about talking to the team owner about closing the curtains?
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Garrett said.
Transaction
The Cowboys signed defensive end Ryan Davis on Tuesday. Davis is a four-year veteran who had spent his entire career with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Jerry Jones happy Cowboys stand together for anthem."