After the stellar rookie season, Dak Prescott had a mediocre second year in the NFL, so he has a lot to prove in this campaign. Latest training camp reports suggest that he might bounce back and significantly improve his performance, but that is not the main topic of this article.
It is clear that every player in the league gets a lot of media attention and being Dallas Cowboys quarterback, you are bound to be followed by many. Just recently we could hear Prescott commenting anthem protests and social injustice saying that it shouldn’t be a part of the game and that he will always stand for the anthem.
These comments got him the mural in which he is represented as one of the characters from the movie “Get Out.” Arlington artist, Trey Wilder was the creator of this street art on The Fabrication Yard in the Trinity Groves area of Dallas.
Star-Telegram talked with Wilder, and he said that one of the main goals of the mural is to wake up something in Dak: “Honestly, I know he’s a superstar, but I’m not scared of Dak Prescott.” He continued by saying “But like in the movie, maybe [the piece] will be a flash for him. I think, with that platform, it was just weird how he dismissed the whole situation, especially being a black man himself.”
Prescott was also asked about the mural, and he said: “Everybody has their own opinion. It is what it is. When I made my statements on the anthem, I knew there would be backlash. No surprises.” When asked if all the criticism that comes his way is unfair, he stated: “As I said, I made my statement. I stand by what I said. I just said some people may have misunderstood it or whatever. I feel strongly about what I said. And it is what it is.”
It was a good opportunity for Dak to further elaborate what he meant with his comments and the young quarterback said: “I think there was a little misunderstanding of the fact of what I believe in. I never said I didn’t believe in social injustice and things that were going on. I just said I didn’t think that the national anthem was the time. It’s two minutes out of our day that we could also be spending embracing what our country should be and what our country is going to be one day that we know that it’s not right now. That is the sad part about it. That it’s not.
“I respect everybody. And power to the people that kneel. That is what they believe in and they should be able to kneel. For me, the game of football has been such a peace. It’s a moment for me to be at peace and think about all the great things our country does have.”
Another thing he decided to comment further is his statement about how he believes in action over protests and that it was taken out of context. Prescott explained that he isn’t saying that Kaepernick, Jenkins or any other players are just about protesting and that he knows they are doing good things for the community.
He added that his point was that “he” wants to be the part of the action, and said: “I am for the action. I am for joining Malcolm and joining those guys in doing something different. That is what I mean, my taking that next step rather than just kneeling or standing. I don’t think kneeling or standing is creating a solution for us.”
