Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that any of his players who ‘disrespect’ the flag won’t be allowed to play.
Jones had his strongest comments so far on the national anthem controversy Sunday night.
They started with his response to a question about Vice President Mike Pence leaving the game in Indianapolis after about a dozen San Francisco players knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner.
‘I know this, we cannot…in the NFL in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,’ Jones, also the team’s general manager, said after a 35-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones (left and right) said the NFL can’t leave the impression that it tolerates players disrespecting the flag and that any of his Cowboys making such displays won’t play
The Cowboys knelt arm-in-arm before the national anthem when they played at Arizona two weeks ago, days after President Donald Trump criticized NFL players for anthem protests (Pictured, standing on Sunday)
‘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.’
The Cowboys knelt arm-in-arm before the national anthem when they played at Arizona two weeks ago, days after President Donald Trump criticized NFL players for anthem protests.
Dallas players, coaches and others, including Jones and his family, were among those in the line in Arizona. All of them stood during the anthem, with arms still locked.
Other than that, Dallas players have stood on the sideline, many with hands over their hearts, during the anthem ever since former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started kneeling last season in protest of police brutality in the US.
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,’ said Jones, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. ‘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.’
Jones (pictured, August 2017) 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
Miami Dolphins players were forced by team owner Stephen Ross (above) to stand before Sunday’s game when a military band played the national anthem
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 a phone conversation with Trump after the display in Arizona included Trump telling him there was a rule on the books.
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.
Three of the players are seen walking out of the tunnel at the end of the anthem after they were told they weren’t allowed to stand
But three players did not join the team on the field during the anthem on Sunday. Tight end Julius Thomas, safety Michael Thomas and wide receiver Kenny Stills (above before the game) remained off the field during the anthem before coming onto it once it ended
Miami Dolphins players were forced by the team owner to stand before Sunday’s game when a military band played the national anthem.
Stephen Ross, who was an advocate for players protesting in the past during the national anthem, changed his views on the issue after comments President Donald Trump made saying players should be fired and referred to them collectively as ‘son of a b***h.’
Before the team’s game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Ross said: ‘Trump has made [standing for anthem] about patriotism. It’s so important if that’s what the country is looking at to look at [the protest] differently.’
Ross asserted that the issue last year was raising awareness for equality and other subjects that did not involve patriotism.