NFL
Jerry Jones Has Kept Mouth Shut on Racial Injustice for 1 Surprising Reason
Kyle Dalton began covering sports in 1992 after he graduated from the University of Texas school of journalism. He published his book Burned Orange: Tom Penders and 10 Years at the University of Texas in 2000, and joined Sports7 in 2020. Kyle expertly covers the NFL, NASCAR, and NCAA football. Kyle finds inspiration in the unscripted drama of sports, the compelling journeys and life stories of the athletes who play the games, and he enjoys reading the work of Mitch Albom. He is a rabid consumer of all sports on all platforms: TV, Twitter, podcasts, live events, and more.
Get to know Kyle Dalton betterUpdated03 Jul 2020
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has never been one to shy away from any camera or microphone. Since the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests and movement that has developed to change systemic racism and police brutality in the nation, Jones has been conspicuously quiet. Many have questioned Jones' silence. Sportscaster and “Voice of the Dallas Cowboys” Brad Sham reveals the reason why.
Jerry Jones on kneeling back in 2017
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While Colin Kaepernick first took a knee to start the 2016 season, the subject lie somewhat dormant until the President brought it up to start the 2017 season. At that time, he suggested that NFL owners respond to the players by saying, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He's fired!”
NFL owners did, in fact, respond. Unsurprisingly, Jerry Jones was one of the most vocal. He was quite outspoken and clear on where he stood on kneeling during the national anthem.
“We cannot in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” Jones told the Dallas Morning News. “We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind, that the [NFL] and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag.”
Jones' silence draws criticism from others
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While Jerry Jones might have hoped his silence would go unnoticed, his outspoken record of the past wouldn't allow that to happen. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman called out Jones recently when asked his thoughts on the oft-vocal Cowboys owner.
“It's not pulling them like it is the rest of the country. Because if it was, then they'd speak. Jerry Jones, especially, has no problem speaking up any other time about anything else, but when it's such a serious issue, and he could really make a huge impact on it with a few words, his silence speaks volumes.”
Sherman never specifically referenced Jones and his 2017 position on kneeling. ESPN analyst and former NFL cornerback Ryan Clark, however, wasn't so forgiving.
“Jerry Jones was very clear in his stance in 2017 about what he felt about the protest. So I think Jerry Jones is sticking to the script. He has already said how he feels. He's sticking to what his morals are. He's sticking to what his beliefs are. I think that's all we can expect from anyone.
“Jerry Jones doesn't run in the same circles as a guy like Drew Brees. When Drew Brees came out and made that statement, he had to answer to teammates, to friends, to people that he deals with on a day-to-day basis. Those aren't the same circles that Jerry Jones runs in. I don't think he feels the societal pressure that many people who have changed their mind or many people who have started to listen, feel. For Jerry Jones, he's worried about the people that he keeps company with.”
Jerry Jones not necessarily being quiet by choice
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Although it's easy for others to speculate on the reasons for Jones and his decision to stay quiet, sportscaster and long-time voice of the Dallas Cowboys Brad Sham, offered up his own insight on Jones during an interview with “Shan and RJ” on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Sham said there couple be a couple of reasons and one could be a call from the top.
“I don't know whether the league has said to the clubs ‘put a cork in it for a while, let Roger [Goodell] talk. I think they did that around [COVID-19]. I think the league at the beginning of the COVID thing said ‘put a cork in it. The league will talk. We don't want 32 different voices on this,” Sham said.
“Jerry has trained us to anticipate his reactions and comments and statements. If the league told him to put a cork in it, that would be one reason that he hasn't. I frankly kind of expected they might have done that.
“We should, over the last 45 days or so, have come to understand that the kneeling just doesn't have anything to do with the anthem. It just doesn't. And now, if you are someone who is in his middle 70s and perhaps naturally politically conservative and very much believes in all things respectful to the flag, and also has an understanding of your employees of color and how they feel about this. You can imagine what a dilemma that would be. And when you are torn over something so important, sometimes maybe the best thing to say is absolutely nothing for a while, and let's see what happens.”
Meanwhile, as Jones waits to sees what happens and says nothing about it in the process, his silence is deafening to many, especially those in the black community, including many of his employees who generate millions of dollars for him on Sundays. His silence at this important moment in history is much louder than any words he offers in the future no matter how sincere he is in delivering them.
