Sending a mixed message
Jerry Jones gives mixed signals on anthem
OXNARD, Calif. – Oh, for Jerry Jones and his mixed signals.
In one breath, the Cowboys owner raised an objection with the White House for its involvement in the NFL’s national anthem debate, calling the continual jabs from President Donald Trump “problematic.”
Jones also praised the new endeavor by the league and NFL Players Association to discuss ways to jointly craft an anthem policy, while freezing the policy adopted by owners in May, as a “worthy effort.”
Yet Jones, speaking Wednesday during a news conference to kick off training camp, also sounded like a man who won’t budge. The NFL’s most vocal owner reiterated his position that all players must stand at attention for the anthem and maintained he would not support a player who elects to remain in the locker room during “The Star-Spangled Banner,” as the now-suspended policy would allow.
“Our policy is that you stand for the anthem, toe on the line,” Jones flatly said, sounding a lot like … Trump.
In that sense, Jones sends a clear message. Again. He’s unwilling to consider that protests by NFL players should be protected by the constitutional right in America for freedom of expression.
But for Jones to indicate support for the NFL-NFLPA talks as a potential impetus for consensus on the policy rings hollow when he isn’t open to new solutions.
In recent weeks, the NFL advanced a requirement that each team send a formal policy to the league office, outlining how it would handle players who did not stand on the sideline for the anthem. That requirement was suspended as talks loom — finally, better late than never — between the league and the players union.
“That was put on hold,” Jones said. “It did not impact our position, my position, relative to the Cowboys. Our position is real clear: You should stand.”
Jones, who thinks the protests are bad for NFL business — despite the league enjoying record revenue — said the Cowboys’ policy has long been in writing.
Apparently, that is a reference to the suggestion in the NFL’s game-day operations manual (which isn’t part of the collective bargaining agreement with players) that Trump has erroneously referred to as a “rule” requiring players stand for the anthem with their right hand covering their heart.
For the Cowboys, the issue would escalate if a high-profile player tests Jones’ resolve with a protest. That hasn’t happened, and it is unclear if any current players are committed to that degree.
Since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee throughout the 2016 season to protest the disproportionate killings of African-Americans by police and other social injustices, not a single Cowboys player has taken a knee to protest, although two players (David Irving and Damontre Moore) raised fists at the end of the anthem.
Also, after Trump blasted NFL players in September, Jones and several family members joined his players in taking a knee before a game at Arizona before standing during the anthem.
Yet now Jones is entrenched in his position.
While Jones didn’t indicate Wednesday what the ramifications would be if a Cowboys player protested during the anthem, it’s easy to infer the individual would likely be out of a job.
That’s exactly what the NFLPA is seeking to prevent, especially amid active collusion cases brought forth by Kaepernick and former 49ers safety Eric Reid, who both remain unsigned.
Trump, of course, has urged that the NFL not employ protesting players. That’s why Jones’ remarks about the president, whom he has supported politically and considers a friend, were so striking.
“His interest in what we’re doing is problematic, from my chair and I would say, in general, from the (other NFL) owners’ chair,” Jones said of Trump. “Unprecedented, if you really think about it. But like the game itself, that’s the way it is, and we’ll deal with it.”
The NFL, as Jones indicated again, wants the anthem issue to go away as it takes attention away from the game. Too bad. It’s not so simple. It appears that the debate isn’t going away anytime soon.