Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones mandate is wrong

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mandated that if his players don’t stand for the National Anthem, they won’t play. Jones’ mandate is wrong.

The Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones mandated that if his players don’t stand for the National Anthem, they WON’T PLAY!

Those are some strong words coming from Jerry. Wow! I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see that curve ball coming. If this was baseball, I would’ve been caught looking for a fast ball on a 3-2 count.

Ever since former San Francisco 49ers quarterack Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem for the social injustices of POC (People of Color), it’s created a firestorm, division of among NFL players and owners, and bad publicity for the NFL overall.

And Jerry has thrown a ton of gasoline on an already sensitive topic by making it mandatory for his players to stand and not kneel for the National Anthem.

Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas,

"“The policy and my actions are going to be if you don’t honor and stand for the flag in a way that a lot of our fans feel that you, if that’snot the case, then, you won’t play,”"

When asked if he would sit his Pro Bowlers(Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Dez Bryant) if they took a knee during the National Anthem, Jones said, essentially, try me.

As much as Jerry respects the flag and what it symbolizes, he’s in no position to impose his personal beliefs on his players.

Although Jerry is the owner and operator of the Cowboys, and can do as he pleases, Jerry is absolutely wrong with his National Anthem mandate. Jerry is so wrong with his approach about the National Anthem that its Un-American. Unbecoming. Selfish. And dictatorial. Period.

As much as Jerry respects the flag and what it symbolizes, he’s in no position to impose his personal beliefs on his players.

And if they don’t adhere to his belief system, then they are penalized for protesting in a peaceful manner?

So Jerry wants to bench his own players because they’re exercising their First Amendment right? And doing it peacefully?

Maybe Jerry needs to be reminded of why the players are kneeling in the first place. For starters Mr. Jerry, the players have said repeatedly that they’re not disrespecting the flag, only bringing attention to the social injustices in this country, like Police brutality on people of color.

Further, the players have constantly stated its not about disrespecting America’s military, veterans and the police.

That’s not the American way, and that’s not why I joined the United States Army and proudly served my country to the fullest extent.

But another reason why Jerry is beyond wrong is because he puts the players on the Cowboys roster in an uncompromising position, especially the Black players. And I’ll explain shortly.

If one of Dallas’ players wanted to kneel before the National Anthem, he’d have to think about not only getting benched, but also getting blackballed in the league because of Jones’ mandate, especially if he’s an average player.

And this team has plenty of average players, just pick a name on either side of the ball.

What if players like Benson Mayowa, Jeff Heath, Jonathan Cooper, Brice Butler, and Jaylon Smith all wanted to take a knee?

More than likely, they’re not kneeling because they’re afraid of not only getting benched, but not ever playing another down in the NFL. I chose those players because they’re either average or one cut away from never playing again, as in Cooper’s case (on his fourth team).

All one has to do is look at how Kaepernick is being blackballed. Please spare me the narrative that’s he’s not good enough of a quarterback when half the NFL signal callers are already proven incapable. And Kap is proven capable.

On the other hand, the Black players on the Cowboys roster are under way more pressure from the Black community to kneel during the National Anthem than their White teammates.

Why? Because of the social injustices that are affecting the Black community, a community they’re familiar with and attached to.

As a Black man myself, I know this to be true because of the constant discussions on why the Black players should kneel and peacefully protest the National Anthem. From sports radio shows to barber shop talk, the Black people want the Black players to take a stand, especially the elite Black superstars.

Back in August, Jemele Hill of ESPN’s “His & Hers” criticized Bryant for not kneeling. And Hill is a Black woman. Hill criticized Bryant because he said he wasn’t kneeling.

From a cultural standpoint, she was calling Dez out because he’s an All Pro receiver who should be kneeling and using his clout to make changes for the better.

Hill believes wholeheartedly Dez should kneel. To her it’s not even debatable.

I don’t know Dez personally and I’ve never met any of the Cowboys players, Black or White. But if I could talk to them off the record, I imagine the conversation would go like this: “I’d love to kneel before the flag, but I don’t want to get benched or lose any money down the road. I have to play the game. That’s the it is”.

Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones’ is mandate is wrong

By Dink Kearney | Oct 12, 2017

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones mandated that if his players don’t stand for the National Anthem, they won’t play. Jones’ mandate is wrong.