Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones publicly admitted what every NFL fan was already aware of this past weekend, saying the national anthem protests being carried out by football players is causing the league to ‘suffer.’
His comments come after another game in which his team’s opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, had multiple players take a knee during the playing of the anthem.
The Cowboys had no players kneel, though one defensive lineman David Irving briefly raised his fist after the anthem concluded.
San Francisco 49ers players kneel during national anthem as team unveils US-shaped flag https://t.co/QGuktgRIaP pic.twitter.com/8k3tyScsnY
— The Hill (@thehill) October 22, 2017
Jones said he was “very proud of the way they (his players) all handled themselves,” adding that Irving’s actions were ‘deliberately’ not performed during the anthem.
In his first public comments since an owners meeting resulted in no changes to the rule regarding national anthem protests, Jones said the league is suffering due to them.
“There is no question the league is suffering negative effects from these protests,” Jones told reporters.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones: ‘No question’ NFL is ‘suffering negative effects from these protests’ https://t.co/2JI8oxdie4
— Shelley Evans (@ShelleyJEvans) October 23, 2017
“If I am anything, I am first and foremost a proponent of making the NFL strong,” Jones said, adding that these protests don’t do that.
“If all this makes you stronger to represent messages, let’s don’t do it in a way that tears down the strength of the NFL,” he said.
The Washington reports that the NFL’s ratings are getting substantially weaker in light of the kneeling players.
“Going into this weekend’s games, NFL ratings were down 7.5 percent from a similar period last year, according to Nielsen, and down 18.7 percent from the first six weeks of the 2015 season,” the Post writes.
Though he did try to get the best of both worlds by joining his team in kneeling prior to the national anthem a few weeks ago, Jones has been a rare voice of reason amongst league officials.
The Cowboys owner would eventually lay down an ultimatum to his team – respect the flag, or find yourself on the bench.
Jerry Jones just said any Cowboys player who “disrespects the flag” won’t be allowed to play.
— Mike Finger (@mikefinger) October 9, 2017
His stance drew praise from the White House, who has been relentlessly pressuring the NFL to do something about the league’s disrespect for the anthem, the flag, and our military.
A big salute to Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who will BENCH players who disrespect our Flag.”Stand for Anthem or sit for game!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2017
At some point, the league has to come to grips with the reality that their players disrespect of America is hurting their bottom line. They are indeed suffering as a business.
Does the NFL deserve to ‘suffer’ due to their unwillingness to make players stand? Share your thoughts below!
