Jerry Jones to allow Dallas Cowboys players to hold silent protests during anthem
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has made his feelings clear on social justice protests during the national anthem.
And he has continued to reiterate that he doesn’t believe it’s the time and place to protest because it comes across as demeaning to the United States flag.
Jones made that point again on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan.
But now, Jones is getting out of the way and showing the grace that he promised by seemingly giving his players, in the words of defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford, “the green light to express themselves” on social justice matters.
It won’t be known until the Sept. 13 season opener against the Los Angeles Rams if a Cowboys player will take a knee in protest of social justice during the anthem for the first time ever.
But the practice will no longer be banned. Jones recognizes it as an opportunity to support his players in a time of need and he wants to use visibility of the Cowboys to move the ball forward.
“I really do recognize the time we’re in, and I recognize the ability of the Cowboys to use the visibility and the interest we have to support the players,” Jones said. “ And, so we’ll come down in a way that gives us a chance to move the ball forward, move the ball positively forward. The word is ‘be as effective as we can, maximizing this visibility of the Cowboys.’ We’re the most visible thing there is in all of television in any discipline.”
“So, how do we do that? We will do that by showing grace to the millions who are sensitive and believe the flag is a symbol of the best in America. The flag is a symbol of that. We also recognize the times we are in and the need for social justice. That is the way it will come down.
There will be no angst between me and the players and no angst between me and the fans.”
Jones has previously outlawed the players from doing anything he considered to be disrespectful to the flag in the past, saying “they will stand with toes on the line or not play.”
No Cowboys player has ever taken a knee in protest during the anthem.
Jones softened his stance partly as a result of the social justice movements across the country following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May, subsequent protests in the MLB, NBA, WNBA, and NASCAR and the admission by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that the league was wrong on how it handled the anthem protests in the past.
Jones had said that his goal was to find a compromise with the players possibly kneeling before the anthem and standing during it with the focus of making a unified demonstration as a team, similar to what they did when he knelt and stood with the players before a game in 2017.
But that was before the issue was reignited by the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which sparked a shutdown of games in the NBA, WNBA, MLB and the NHL, and renewed conversations by players in the Cowboys locker room about how they were going to handle the anthem.
Quarterback Dak Prescott said players should have the individual freedom to protest or not protest.
“That’s what this country is about, the freedom to do that, the freedom to express yourself,” Prescott said when asked if he thought that players should have the ability to protest. “We heard Mr. Jones talk about grace and sharing grace and having grace with players in what they want to do. If I had it my way that’s exactly what we’d do ... express ourselves individually, but love and support one another collectively.”
“That’s where we are as a country right now. Individuals have different thoughts, different perceptions and different feelings than their neighbor. So for you to force your opinion and your perceptions on somebody I think isn’t very important right now, it doesn’t matter.”
And that is seemingly what Jones is doing.
This, he said, is not a situation where everyone is on the same page, but they don’t have to be.
“That’s the great thing about America,,” Jones said, adding that everybody is different. “Our players are there, they are sensitive to and respect what America is as it relates to the flag. I’ll assure you that. I would hope that our fans would understand that our players have issues they need help on. They need help.”
Jones is doing his part to move the ball forward by getting out of the way.
