Gerald McCoy wants Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to join movement, denounce racism
Count Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Gerald McCoy among those waiting to hear from owner Jerry Jones in the wake of George Floyd’s death by a white Minneapolis police officer and the ongoing protests against police brutality and racism against people of color across the country.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has pledged his support to Black Lives Matter and admitted the league was wrong in how it stamped out the protests during the national anthem that were meant to bring attention to police brutality.
Several Cowboys — including McCoy, quarterback Dak Prescott, running back Ezekiel Elliott and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence — have joined the chorus of athletes, celebrities, sports leagues and companies in what has been a movement of reconciliation in denouncing racism against Black people.
Yet, Jones has remained curiously silent.
The Cowboys put out a video with the players interacting with law enforcement and other public officials discussing issues of racism. The team has made Juneteenth, which is regarded as Emancipation Day when the slaves were freed, a company holiday.
Jones, who has never been shy about injecting himself into any issue, has not uttered a word.
McCoy, a former Oklahoma star who is in his first season with the Cowboys, says it’s important for Jones to speak up and speak out.
“You have the players, who have their own brand, but we’re all under the umbrella of the Dallas Cowboys,” McCoy said to ESPN. “The Dallas Cowboys are the most recognized franchise in the world. They can get behind it, whether it’s the players or just being in the movement, period, and showing their support. It would be great to hear a statement from the Cowboys, great to hear a statement from Jerry Jones in support of everything that’s going on.
“Will that get me in trouble saying that? I don’t know, but the truth is it needs to be said. The problem is people are afraid to have the conversations.”
McCoy is certainly not alone in wanting to hear from Jones. The media has called for him to break his silence on racial issues. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman wants him to speak on Floyd as well as the anthem protests.
But McCoy continues to do his part to bring awareness to the issues of race in America and he will walk 2.5 miles on Friday in support of Fort Worth resident Opal Lee’s push to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
At 10 a.m. Friday, Lee, a 93-year-old retired schoolteacher, walked from the Fort Worth Convention Center and to the Will Rogers Coliseum. She covered 2.5 miles to symbolize the 2.5 years slaves had to wait from the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to their actual freedom.
“I’m so glad she brought awareness to this — that’s why it’s so great, that’s why I’m trying to spread as much about this as possible so this becomes regular on Juneteenth, walk 2.5 miles to commemorate the two and a half years the slaves didn’t know they were free,” McCoy said. “This is something I’m going to continue and be glad to continue. Even when it becomes a national holiday, I’ll do even more then.”
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation had formally freed the slaves almost two and a half years earlier — and the American Civil War had ended with the defeat of the Confederate States — the news and, thus enforcement, was slow to reach Texas because it was the most remote of the slave states and had a low presence of Union troops.
Blacks in Texas began celebrating their freedom on that date as early as 1866. It has now spread to major cities across the country as Emancipation Day.
Juneteenth is recognized as a state holiday or special day of observance in 47 states.
Lee is part of a growing push to make it a national holiday, as Juneteenth is the oldest national celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
“Our true independence as African Americans, our true day of freedom should be celebrated nationally,” McCoy said. “Independence Day is celebrated nationally, but that envelope was not pushed since that didn’t free everybody, that wasn’t about everybody. The Emancipation Proclamation was finalized in 1863, but it wasn’t until 1865 that all slaves in Texas realized that we are free. That should be celebrated nationally.”
McCoy walked 2.5 miles near his home in Oklahoma on Friday and he has encouraged his teammates and former teammates to do the same on social media and “Show your support by walking 2.5 miles this Friday, wherever you are, to support Opal Lee’s efforts.”
“With all that’s going on, I think everybody is doing their part,” McCoy said. “This is just me trying to do my part, which is creating change. It’s time. It’s been this way for too long. We can use our voices. I’m not speaking for me. I’m not speaking for other celebrities. I’m speaking for the voices that people don’t hear. I’m speaking for the people that don’t have the platform to say what they want to say. That’s why it’s vital people are listening.”
While Jones hasn’t talked, it appears that coach Mike McCarthy is listening. McCoy gave McCarthy credit for allowing the players to speak and share their stories on racism during virtual team meetings.
“You can’t ask for anything better than to bring unity to your team,” McCoy said. “He didn’t do it where he was thinking, ‘I don’t need my team to be separated in order to win a championship.’ Coach McCarthy did it with the mindset of, ‘Well, shoot, my eyes weren’t even open, so the more we talk about it today, the more you bring it up, the more I can learn and the more we can do it as a unit.’ He wants the Dallas Cowboys to be the example of how we should come together and push for change. I’m so proud to be one of his players, giving us the opportunity to say what everybody needed to say. He was open and honest.”
McCoy is still waiting on Jones to do the same.
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
