Jerry Jones gives Cowboys players ultimatum: Stand for anthem or sit for game
By Ryan Gaydos, Fox News
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Sunday any player who disrespects the flag will not play.
Jones’ comments, the strongest made on the anthem controversy, came after he was asked about Vice President Mike Pence leaving the game in Indianapolis early after several San Francisco 49ers players took a knee during the national anthem.
"I know this, we cannot ... in the NFL in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag," he said following the Cowboys’ 35-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers. "We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag. So we're clear."
Jones and the rest of the team knelt arm-in-arm before the national anthem before a game against the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago, days after President Trump reignited the anthem-protest controversy.
Dallas players have stood on the sideline, many with hands over their hearts, during the anthem ever since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling last season in protest of what he believed were instances of racial injustice in the U.S.
Jones said showing respect for the flag and the anthem is more important to him than any potential issues of team unity.
"There is no room here if it comes between looking non-supportive of our players and of each other or creating the impression that you're disrespecting the flag, we will be non-supportive of each other," Jones said. "We will not disrespect the flag."
Jones said he wasn't aware of whether any of his players had raised a fist at the end of the anthem before the Green Bay game.
"I don't know about that," Jones said. "But if there's anything that is disrespectful to the flag, then we will not play. OK? Understand? If we are disrespecting the flag, then we won't play. Period."
Additionally, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said he changed his view on how his team should handle the national anthem. Ross said because Trump made standing for the national anthem about “patriotism,” he evolved the way he looks at the protest, according to the Miami Herald.
Ross now wants all of the Dolphins players to stand for the anthem. Three Dolphins players – Kenny Stills, Julian Thomas and Michael Thomas – remained off to the sideline during the anthem Sunday.
The NFL has said the game operations manual distributed to teams includes a reference to players standing for the anthem, but that it's a policy and not a rule. The league has said it doesn't plan to punish players over anthem protests.
"The league in mind should absolutely take the rules we've got on the books and make sure that we do not give the perception that we're disrespecting the flag," Jones said.
Eagles player says he would defy rule barring him from protesting during anthem
By Ryan Gaydos, Fox News
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Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Malcolm Jenkins said Monday he would defy a rule that would prohibit him from protesting during the national anthem, even if it meant he would not play.
Jenkins, who has raised a fist during the national anthem since Week 2 of last season, told NBC Sports Philadelphia if Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie enacted a rule similar to what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he would do, it would not stop him from demonstrating.
"I would still do it," Jenkins said. "I mean, I've been that committed to it because that decision is not mine. I made the decision a year ago that I was going to use my platform in a way to create positive change both on the field and off the field and having someone tell me I couldn't do that simply because, you know, a president or your bottom line is getting ready to be affected, that wouldn't deter me."
Jones said Sunday after the Cowboys’ loss to the Green Bay Packers that any player that chose to “disrespect” the flag by kneeling during the national anthem would not play. He doubled-down on those comments Sunday in an interview with ESPN.
Jenkins reiterated to NBC Sports Philadelphia that the demonstrations during the national anthem were not about the flag and were “in no way disrespectful to our flag, country or service members.”
"I think we've made that very clear that what we are demonstrating about has nothing to do with the flag but everything to do with social injustice, racial inequality and the things that, you know, Jerry Jones and other owners who are making statements have yet to address," he said.
Jenkins said he would like for NFL owners to talk about the issues that players are protesting against – racial injustice, police brutality and the education gap – to move the conversation forward.
The Eagles veteran has been one of the most prominent leaders of the NFL protests since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract this past offseason.
Yahoo Sports reported last month Jenkins, teammate Torrey Smith, Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Bennett and former NFL player Anquan Boldin co-authored a letter to the league office asking for money, political involvement and other commitments from the league. It also asked the NFL to recognize the month of November as activism awareness month.
NFL owners considering ordering players to stand during national anthem
FOX News
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The NFL could vote as soon as next week on a rule change that would require players to stand for the national anthem -- effectively putting an end to the contentious protests that have broken out during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Fox News obtained a letter on Tuesday sent by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to the league's owners confirming the rule change would be discussed.
“We live in a country that can feel very divided. Sports, and especially the NFL, brings people together and lets them set aside those divisions, at least for a few hours. The current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country,” Goodell wrote.
Goodell wrote he and the NFL believed players should stand for the national anthem.
“It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us,” Goodell wrote.
Goodell noted, however, the NFL respects the opinions of players who've knelt, sat or raised a fist in protest.
“Building on many discussions with clubs and players, we have worked to develop a plan that we will review with you at next week’s League meeting," Goodell wrote. "This would include such elements as an in-season platform to promote the work of our players on these core issues, and that will help to promote positive change in our country."
Goodell said conversations with players about the anthem issue would continue and he hoped the NFL and owners could have a “full and open discussion” during next week’s meeting.
Goodell's letter follows President Trump’s tweets Tuesday that suggested the U.S. change its tax laws to punish organizations such as the NFL if members were found to be “disrespecting” the national anthem or flag.
"Why is the NFL getting massive tax breaks while at the same time disrespecting our Anthem, Flag and Country? Change tax law!" Trump wrote.
Trump has also called on NFL owners to discipline players who don't stand for the anthem. On Sunday, Vice President Pence walked out on his home-state Indianapolis Colts game when members of the opposing team, the San Francisco 49ers, took a knee during the national anthem.
Pence tweeted around kickoff: "I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem."
Trump tweeted Sunday he asked Pence to leave the stadium if players knelt or sat during the national anthem.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones became the first NFL owner to suggest repercussions for displays of protest during the national anthem.
The protests began last year when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat or knelt during the national anthem as a way to bring attention to the killings of black men by police officers. Kaepernick, a free agent, has not yet been signed by a team after opting out of his contract with the 49ers.
ESPN Host Compares Dallas Cowboys Owner to a Slave Owner
Jack Heretik - Washington Free Beacon
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An ESPN host on Monday compared Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, to a slave owner for his response to national anthem protests in the NFL, just hours after ESPN suspended another network host for attacking Jones on social media and threatening to boycott his advertisers.
Michael Wilbon, co-host of ESPN's show "Pardon the Interruption," castigated Jones after the Cowboys owner said that he would bench players who kneel during the national anthem, according to press reports. Wilbon was debating the issue with his co-host, Tony Kornheiser, on air.
"He [Jones] said he wanted to honor the anthem, and it seemed like that was where he was going," Wilbon said. "But now it just seems like it was as phony as a three-dollar bill. And the word that comes to mind, and I don't care who doesn't like me using it, is ‘plantation.'"
"The players are here to serve me, and they will do what I want no matter how much I pay them," Wilbon continued. "They are not equal to me. That's what this says to me and to mine."
Wilbon later doubled down on his comments on the "Dan Patrick Show," the Daily Wire reported. After calling Jones a "phony," Wilbon again described him as running a plantation.
"I was critical of Jerry Jones yesterday," Wilbon said. "I used the phrase ‘plantation mentality,' so let me repeat it, because that's what it comes off as."
Wilbon's criticism came after Jones said Sunday night that Cowboys players would not play if they disrespect the American flag.
"If there is anything that is disrespectful to the flag then we will not play," Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News.
President Donald Trump praised Jones for his comments.
Watch Wilbon's initial criticism of Jones below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK9IxqI7JO0
And watch Wilbon doubling down on his comments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUZ8jFw5vN4
