On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said players who “disrespect the flag” wouldn’t play. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported that didn’t go over well with everybody on the team.
Jerry Jones’ national anthem message took at least one Cowboys player by surprise
Jones said players who “disrespect the flag” won’t play. A Cowboys player told ESPN’s Josina Anderson, “Now I don’t know what to believe.”
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The kneeling before the anthem Anderson’s source references is when the Cowboys took a knee while linking arms prior to the anthem against the Arizona Cardinals during Week 3 on Monday Night Football.
After that demonstration, Jones said after the game, “I can’t say enough about the understanding and the awareness of our team, and these young men that basically said, ‘you know, that makes sense.’ There’s no need for us to talk about unity and equality and have 60 percent of this country mad at you because you’re not perceived to be honoring the flag. And this was a way to do both.”
Another Cowboys source told Anderson Wednesday they were basically tired of the entire ordeal, sounding like they’d prefer no politics in football:
Later Wednesday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said that the team met to discuss their feelings on the matter. However, Jones was not involved:
Later that day, Albert Breer reported that Jones will meet with the players:
Jones’ comments from Sunday on the national anthem came after Vice President Mike Pence left the Colts’ game against the 49ers on Sunday.
Pence said he left the game because players on the 49ers were kneeling during the national anthem. He fired off a few tweets, and then released a pre-written statement on the situation.
President Donald Trump would later tweet he told Pence to leave if he saw players kneeling.
Pence’s action came just a couple of weeks after Trump said at a rally in Alabama that NFL owners needed to “fire” players who “disrespect the flag.” He also referred to players who kneel during the anthem as “sons of bitches.”
No members of the Dallas Cowboys have kneeled during the anthem since Colin Kaepernick started his protest against police brutality and oppression that people of color face in America.
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