Dez answers the call with a cool million on the line

Dez Bryant got the $1 million call on Thursday night.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called into his organization’s telethon and told Bryant on the other end of his pledge of $1 million to The Salvation Army going toward Hurricane Harvey relief.

“It was cool, man,” Bryant said. “Mr. Jones being Mr. Jones. I think it was great. A real super cool thing – he donated a million dollars. That’s a lot of money. It was great.

“It was so great to see these guys, us, teaming with The Salvation Army to try to put that smile back on Houston’s face. Anything that we could do to help, you all can see we’re doing it. … They need love and support right now and I think we’re doing an outstanding job of doing it.”

Jones served as the most memorable call on the night. But the Cowboys received a countless number of phone calls from fans across the country in their telethon that raised more than $2 million in relief funds.

The Cowboys had several of their stars on the phone lines including Bryant, Dak Prescott, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin and Sean Lee. Also joining them were Hall of Famers such as Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Tony Dorsett.

The Cowboys opted to do a practice coincided with a televised telethon after their scheduled preseason finale against the Houston Texans was canceled. More than 20 markets in the state televised the event.

Receiver Cole Beasley felt the right decision was made to cancel the game and the Cowboys doing something of this nature.

“I think they did the best thing,” Beasley said. “Not just for us helping but for the guys, for the other team to get back home and get back to their families. I think this was the best thing for them and they’d been gone for a while and they probably have some family members who are in trouble to, so I know they want to get back.

“The game is meaningless compared to what we going on down there, so I think it’s for the best.”

Beasley had a few calls where families went crazy when he introduced himself, but for the most part it was about raising money for those affected in Southeast Texas.

“Most of them were pretty, they handled themselves well and were all about donating money and helping,” Beasley said.

The players helped out earlier in the day, too. They went to The Salvation Army’s main facility in Dallas and unpacked and organized 30,000 pieces of team-issued clothing.

“[We] want to be part of the solution,” center Travis Frederick said. “Every little bit does help, and this is a situation where everyone in the nation has their eyes on those affected by the hurricane. So if everyone else in the nation helps out a little bit, there’s a ton of help that can be had.”

Added Charlotte Jones Anderson: “It’s great for us to be able to lend a hand literally and merchandise to help them do their job because they’re always doing their job for everybody else so it’s a real thrill to be here with them.”

Giving back didn’t stop Thursday, either.

Bryant rented a couple U-Hauls and intended to load them up with supplies on Thursday night, and drop them off Friday morning at The Salvation Army.

“We’re able to help one another,” Bryant said. “It’s something I live by. God don’t care how much we have individually, he cares about how we treat one another. And I hate that this situation had to happen, but the good thing about it is it brings unity.

“This is the perfect opportunity to show unity. I think we’re doing a great job of it. Hopefully when everything gets back where it needs to be, us seeing Houston smile, hopefully the great state of Texas can show what real unity is. Like I said, we’re doing a great job of that. Just want to see Houston smile again. That’s all.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Dez answers the call with a cool million on the line."