The Dallas Cowboys owner has been eerily quiet over the last several months. Aside from making an appearance at his office when the state of Texas allowed business to open up under heavy restrictions, the normally outspoken Jerry Jones has been eerily out of the public eye. On Wednesday, the team had their first press conference of the coming season, kicking off training camp with the usual state of the team.
Via Zoom conference, Jones, his son and executive VP Stephen and head coach Mike McCarthy answered questions from a select group of local media on all things Cowboys. He spent over eight minutes discussing his 2017 edict that no players on his team would disrespect the flag by kneeling, citing the term grace multiple times throughout.
As Jones never made himself available during the onset of nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, many have been asking for his stance as the NFL finally offered their mea culpa for their efforts to stifle the voices of their players. During the 2017 season, players looked to kneel in silent protest over police brutality and racial injustice, but the league discouraged those efforts at every turn and blackballed Colin Kaepernick from finding employment.
Jones was front and center during this time, saying that no player on the Cowboys would kneel during the anthem, citing it was disrespectful to the flag, despite players insisting kneeling wasn’t meant to be disrespectful to anything or anyone, but rather a way to bring attention to one of the nation’s long-standing ills.
With Floyd’s murder playing out in public view and cast to all to witness online and on social media, there was a national and international uprising in support of change. NFL players came out in even stronger force, including Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott, forcing the league and commissioner Roger Goodell to end their silence.
Finally, after months of silence Jones had to answer questions about his previous words.
He didn’t really answer, either, relying on his usual skill of dancing around direct response using plenty of words. Jones never mentions race or injustice. Before he asked for grace from the public to understand the players don’t mean to disrespect their thoughts on the flag, he put the onus on the players being understanding of people who take offense to their actions. Jones didn’t say the protests aren’t disrespectful, but only that those taking a part don’t feel that way. In the end, he punted on things many were looking for him to say but he did seem to soften on the toe-the-line edict he placed on his players in 2017.
Here’s the full transcript from this portion of the presser.
David Moore (Dallas Morning News): You were talking about the challenges and the climate in the country and the platform you have. You said in the past when you understand the players who kneel aren’t protesting the anthem or showing disrespect to the flag. Your policy is to stand during the anthem, toe on the line. Does that remain your policy or have the events of recent months altered your outlook?
Jones: Well everybody in this country knows where I stand, and where the Cowboys stand when it comes to the flag. Millions of people that represents so much of what’s in the past in their lives. Whether it’s losing loved ones, or whether it be an immigrant that came over to America and made his way, and fought and fought and fought and create a life we’re here today with. So we all understand where I stand with the flag.
But everyone also understands where I stand with backing our players, the Dallas Cowboys players. My greatest fear, frankly, is because two years ago, when this was a focal point issue at the time, standing or kneeling, two years ago, our players we all came together and we had many on that team that were thinking about one way and many many others that were thinking about another way. And I asked them to look at it from the standpoint of not only team, but look at it from the standpoint of the uniqueness of what we can do as the Dallas Cowboys.
We basically came up with a way that we would stand we came up with a way that we would go forward; the team selected leadership. They met with judges, many many judges. They interviewed those judges, the judges interviewed the players . Our players went with police and went out on patrol and went out and were involved when police duty were being performed to get a better understanding from that.
And they did commit, with everything that we could do to give them support, I’m talking about the Dallas Cowboys, and we basically spoke to this when the issue was really at the forefront just a few months back. And we spoke to this and consequently, I’m so proud of how our players addressed that at the time. And that was our statement. Because we had it; we had many many examples that we could present and programs about where we stand regarding social justice at that time.
That was then, and that’s how we reacted then. I’m so proud of Dak, the other day he made a plea to the governor of Oklahoma. Those are the active aspects of being to address and help the issue of social justice. So proud of the Dallas Cowboys and proud of Dak for taking that stance. I don’t speak for him he’s gonna be on here later today and he’ll speak for himself in this area. But those are areas of doing something about it.
The key word about your question, David, is a word called grace. Grace. That was then, two years ago. This is now. We’ve had very very sensitive times. I don’t need to share that we’re also embroiled in a very other sensitive time with the challenge and the war literally we’re on with the virus. These are very sensitive times. I have nothing to prove as far as where I’,m standing with the flag or where the Cowboys stand. I have nothing to prove regarding my players and my support of our players.
What I do want to show and want us all to be a part of is a word called grace. Grace. Not only grace in our actions but grace in our understanding where they’re coming from. I want our players to understand the perception and where they’re coming from regarding the flag and the sensitivity there, and the many memories there.
And I want our fans to understand and better do because of what’s gone on over the last few months.
I want them to understand where our players are coming from there and they do not feel like, that the ones that want to basically do that, kneel, they do not feel like they are dishonoring the flag. I’m gonna have grace, I’ve had grace. Many of you have written and criticized me for having too much grace and understanding regarding our players, and I probably have. And I’m gonna have grace regarding the people that are sensitive about our flag.
Somewhere in between there is the weeks, as we get together with our team, as we discuss with our team; somewhere in between there is where we’re going to handle it.
Clarence Hill (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram): “So Jerry basically, you have not made a decision if your players decide to kneel, they’ll be off the team or they’ll be [inaudible]
Jones: Clarence, we’re going to have grace when we sit here and look at how we’re going to handle it. I haven’t met to the detail and in-depth with our players that I want to.
I have talked to literally double handfuls of very very engaged people, I have had input from ex-presidents. I’ve had input from presidents. I’ve had inputs from a cross section of our players, former players and I will continue to have input. This is a very serious matter. WE’ve asked for the platform as I mentioned earlier.
We have the platform, we’re going to show grace. I’m going to show grace and I’d like to show that kind of grace in a sensitive matter that comes up. Everybody is genuine here I’m giving everyone the benefit of the doubt relative to any decision that I make. Clarence as you know I have one thing, my job is to run the Dallas Cowboys. My job is to do what’s right. We’ve asked for all of this interest and we’ve asked for our players to give everything they’ve got. Now I want to sit down when I have an issue and I have a decision to make, I want to show the world that I can do it with grace and come up with the right solution. I don’t know what we’re going to be faced with here one month from now or two months from now. When it happens, I’m giving you the backdrop of how I make the decision at the time or encourage our players. Our players have always been open ears for anything that I have to offer and I’ve been open ears for anything they have to offer and that’s what we’ll do.
Clarence Hill (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram): “Have you had a chance to talk to Dontari Poe and Gerald McCoy who have somewhat asked you to make a statement to them?”
Jones: I have not personally talked to them, no, at all. As you guys know- you don’t expect me to just because you say ‘let’s hear from you Jerry’ you don’t expect me to pop up and hear from me, do you? I know you don’t. So, that’s not the way it works. Am I interested in what any player, am I interested in what any of our media, am I interested in what everybody has to say about any issue? You bet. And I have rabbit ears, I really do. And so having said that, I am listening. And so the point is we will do it in a way that we think is as sensitive and has as much grace for the genuine feelings of everybody in mind. The two players you just mentioned, there’s no doubt in my mind – we’d just gotten acquainted, frankly we’ve never had a one-on-one visit. I accept everything as being genuine when they say it, and I know they were genuine. They’ll want to see grace from me.
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