Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones says NFL in fall can help America return better than ever
He views that responsibility with honor, pride and respect.
Jones grew emotional Friday night following the second day of the 2020 NFL draft when he was asked how the country is handling the coronavirus pandemic and whether it’s too soon to be talking about professional football returning in the fall.
Jones said the country will return better than before and he believes that the millions of people who watched the first-round of the NFL draft on Thursday was a strong indicator of the intense desire there is for the season to go on.
“There were over 15 million people that watched it [Thursday night],” Jones said. “It was able to help when people are hurting. ... At a time when people don’t have the answers —no one does — I think the NFL and sports stepped up and we created a respite. We created a diversion. We created some type of ‘business as usual’ approach.
“There is no question we’re going to get back as a country,” Jones continued while choking back tears. “There is no question. And when we do, as we always do, we’ll be better than we ever were.”
Jones said all sports leagues will face challenges on the path to returning, but he believes they have that opportunity to be a solace and respite for fans.
“We’ll probably have some things that we’ll go forward with and things that we’ll probably have to pull back on,” Jones said. “But we’ll learn. And make no mistake about it, what we’re doing will be a big part of the future of America.”
Jones compared the situation to the first moon landing in 1969 and how it — not so much the landing itself, but how we got there — changed the country.
The mission, he said, became possible because of “a box” called a computer. “Nobody ever messed with them much in everyday life,” Jones said. “After the moon [landing], everybody started messing with them, and it changed the world. It changed us. I think we’re involved in something like that, that’s going to change us.”
He said the draft served as an example of how the NFL can help and he believes having football in the fall is also part of the recovery process.
“I think this was a plus,” Jones said of the draft. “And I think that, yes, we’ll have football. We’ll have it and hopefully the effort and the work we’re trying to do right here will pay off in a few weeks and months where we’re having our fans see real football.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
