Jones: Cowboys will ‘respect the flag’

Jerry Jones is taking a hard line on national anthem protests.

The Dallas Cowboys owner indicated after a 35-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday that anyone from his team who participated in such a demonstration would not be allowed to play.

“If there is anything disrespecting the flag, then we will not play. Period,” Jones said, according to “The Dallas Morning News.” “We’re going to respect the flag, and I’m going to create the perception of it.”

Cowboys defensive linemen Damontre Moore and David Irving said they held up a fist Sunday at the end of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The Cowboys never issued a formal statement about the protests during Week 3, the first group of NFL games to be played after President Trump’s outburst about the league and its players. However, Jones took a knee with his club prior to the playing of the anthem before their Sept. 25 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Jones and the Cowboys did rise for the anthem’s rendition that night.

“We cannot in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” Jones said, according to “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.”

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also weighed in Sunday.

“He’s changed that whole paradigm of what protest is,” Ross said of Trump before his team’s home opener, via the “South Florida Sun-Sentinel.”

“And I think it’s incumbent upon the players today, because of how the public is looking at it, to really stand and really salute the flag.”