Only six NFL teams are not protesting during the national anthem, and Dallas Cowboys are one of them. Among other franchises that have a similar opinion we have Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. Even though Cowboys hasn’t played a game this week, the protests are still ongoing, and they will not end soon, as it appears.
Players have their own ways of expressing dissatisfaction and Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during the anthem, whereas three Miami Dolphins players waited to jog after the anthem. Some of the players such as Olivier Vernon, the Giants DE knelt and so did TE Julius Thomas, WR, Kenny Stills and safety Michael Thomas.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are “the loudest” with six players kneeling only a week after a dozen players took a knee while Vice President Mike Pence was at the stadium, so he left shortly after. Safety Eric Reid said that Pence’s exit was nothing more than a “PR stunt.” The 49ers are definitely the most active team during these protests which clearly bother President Donald Trump who has told owners to fire players who disrespect the flag. The trend started last year when former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt during the anthem to raise awareness of racial inequality and police brutality.
Even though Dallas Cowboys players haven’t been protesting in their last week duel, Damontre Moore and David Irving, both defensive linemen, raised their fists in the way of support at the end of the anthem. Nevertheless, the Cowboys stole the focus when owner Jerry Jones announced that every player who joins the protests would be benched.
While on KRLD-FM radio show, Jones said: “If you do not honor and stand for the flag in the way that a lot of our fans feel that you should then you won’t play. That’s nothing new as far as that being my wish or want [for] the Cowboys.
“I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding as to where I want the personnel for the Cowboys to be when we’re at the No. 1 workplace we have, which is the field and the sideline on game day,” Jones added. “I want to do everybody a service, as I should in leading the team, and let’s be really clear about what our expectations are.”
The Cowboys held a meeting on Wednesday with Jerry Jones, but not much is known as it was a “private meeting we had, we can’t really speak on it,” as Irving explained. The meeting was supposed to answer some of the burning topics, and even if that was the case, some other questions have been raised.
Cornerback Orlando Scandrick drew a lot of attention to himself with his listening to the song against Donald Trump, but he said that he was just “listening to my music,” and that he liked the artists. Moreover, he refused to comment on the meeting and the subjects discussed. However, when asked about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Scandrick replied: “We’re allowed to support this.”
Jerry Jones is currently the only owner who said that he would bench players who knelt during the anthem, with the announcement coming after the loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 5. It is contradictory to what he did before the game against the Arizona when he knelt alongside the team to show unity and support but stood during the anthem, and the flag display.
In the first couple of games, every NFL team demonstrated against the President of the United States Donald Trump and Dallas was no exception. So far, the league has been quiet about the players who joined the protests, and they haven’t received any form of discipline. Will they be punished? That remains to be seen.
