Dallas Cowboys: It’s bigger than Marquez White
By Reid Hanson
Here we go again, another promising young Dallas Cowboys player has found himself on the wrong side of the law. But before we turn on that player, let’s question the culture of the team.
Yesterday, news broke Dallas Cowboys second-year cornerback, Marquez White, is in legal trouble. Arrested last month from a situation that transpired back on October 20th of 2017, White is facing plenty of local backlash.
It’s become “old hat” to see Dallas Cowboys players get in trouble this time of year. The dead period between minicamps and training camp has been a painful time for Cowboys Nation. Seasons seem to be won or lost time time of year (as was the case last season), and fans are understandably sick of it.
But let’s pump the brakes on the outrage because there are plenty of reasons to think this situation can be resolved and Marquez White still has a future with the Dallas Cowboys. There are also plenty of reasons this issue is bigger than just one man and White is merely a symptom – not the disease
Information is still coming in regarding the situation. What we know for sure is White is being charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from a road rage incident last season. There are two sides to every story and right now we have Marquez White’s side:
Rather than defend or even decry White’s actions, I’m going focus on timing and implications. The charges are serious and White doesn’t seem to be denying the meat of the “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon” part of the whole incident.
Punishment is likely coming from either the judicial system or the NFL (likely both). But this is something we assume the Dallas Cowboys knew about for quite some time. I mean it happened last October. If they were going to draw a line, it probably would have been then. But they didn’t. They let White to continue his development and we can only assume it’s because they maintain hope he can make the roster in 2018.
As one of my personal “breakout players to watch”, the news about Marquez White is upsetting. But I’m not going to call for his release over it, just like I didn’t call for Damien Wilson’s release at this time last season. Like Wilson, he still has a future with this team. He didn’t do himself any favors, but he also didn’t run his career.
The punishments will sort themselves out. We don’t need to pile on top of the NFL’s overzealous nature or the judicial system’s due process.
Where we can make the biggest impact is by questioning the overall culture of the Dallas Cowboys organization. Why are players still trying to experiment with performance enhancers? And why are they taking part in recreational drugs at a time they know the NFL is testing. Why are they staying out past 2am when they know they are targets to so many people? Most importantly – why isn’t there a feeling of responsibility to the team?
Fans are upset because it so often feels as though we’re more devoted to the team than the players themselves. Having the biggest and most loyal fanbase comes with responsibilities and it’s those responsibilities that I’d like to see engrained on the roster.
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Before we start name-calling Marquez White (too late, I know) and before we start calling for his release let’s recognize this is a bigger thing than one man. It’s a systemic issue in the locker room and a sign that players don’t recognize what kind of potential this team has.