Cowboys have made questionable decision

| WHY IS DALLAS HANGING ON TO JOSH BRENT AND HIS LEGAL WOES?

COMMENTARY

DALLAS — It is no surprise that when Josh Brent was hauled back into the Lew Sterrett Justice Center one more time Thursday, he arrived as a Dallas Cowboy. This organization continues to needlessly embarrass itself on a national scale like never before.

Losing football games or failing to advance in the playoffs are simply parts of the business. It happens to every team at some point. A refusal to cut ties with Brent as his story takes one uncomfortable turn after another is as arrogant as it is unnecessary.

You have to be careful when tossing around opinions when it comes to Brent in Dallas or Aaron Hernandez in New England because, while the wheels of justice may be notorious for turning slowly, things are moving awfully fast in these cases.

I suggested early Wednesday that the Patriots should be applauded for releasing a key player — one they really needed in a football sense — when he was bound for “obstruction of justice” charges, as opposed to the Cowboys hanging onto Brent six months after he (allegedly) killed teammate Jerry Brown while driving drunk in Irving.

Then, of course, Hernandez was charged with murder rather than the much smaller obstruction charge. And in less than 24 hours, authorities were talking to the former tight end about other murders. With the gift of hindsight, it stands to reason that the Patriots must have become aware of some degree of the significance of what Hernandez was facing before they quickly released him from the roster.

So let’s hold our applause for now.

But what about the Cowboys?

Brent, it turns out, not only apparently failed a urinalysis in May. It appears he tested positive a second time for marijuana in June, once again violating the terms of his $100,000 bond as he prepares for his intoxication manslaughter trial in September.

That’s why Brent was returned to jail Thursday afternoon. The Cowboys, of course, declined one more time to comment.

For six months now, the club has suggested it needs to let justice run its course. It, of course, doesn’t have to do anything of the sort. The Cowboys can cut Brent at any time without fears that the NFL Players Association is going to complain about a single thing.

I thought coach Jason Garrett had one shining moment in Cincinnati as he spoke to the media after the game barely 24 hours after Brent’s fatal crash. Since then, no one in this organization — and that really means owner-president-GM Jerry Jones — has done the right thing.

I cut the team some slack when Brent appeared on the sideline for the first half of the Pittsburgh game a week later in Arlington. That was based on the club’s suggestion that Brown’s mother had all but demanded that Brent be allowed on the sidelines — a story that turned out to be exaggerated if true at all.

The Cowboys then hid behind the “Brent needs our help” argument, which can be valid for those who are seeking help for their problems. Brent’s failed tests and return to jail (there were also indications he had tampered with his monitor) indicate just how little help he is actively seeking.

This is a man who was sentenced to jail for a DWI while at the University of Illinois. The Cowboys drafted him and have drafted others with criminal records since, and, let’s not forget, one of the tackles ahead of Brent on the depth chart is Jay Ratliff — arrested and charged with a DWI in January when he allegedly ran his pickup into an 18-wheeler.

There’s a reason that “America’s Team” has been attached to the Cowboys only ironically for the last 15 years, but that has to do with the club’s repeated failures on the field.

The manner in which it has refused to step forward in the Brent case is the kind of cruel joke that should turn Cowboys’ fans stomachs and maybe, just maybe, cause them to think twice about buying tickets and supporting Jones and his reckless disregard for anything other than winning football games.

And that’s what makes this so pathetic. If the Cowboys were hanging onto a five-time Pro Bowler who anchors their defense, you’d feel bad about defending them but you could at least understand it.

The Cowboys won’t even cut ties with Josh Brent.

That’s sad.

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Men’s seeded losers: No. 17 Milos Raonic.

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seeded losers: No. 24 Peng Shuai; No. 30 Mona Barthel.

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