Dallas Cowboys players are reportedly frustrated with the hard stance Jerry Jones recently took against national anthem protests, and they appear to be searching for answers.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Cowboys had a team meeting on Wednesday to voice their concerns about Jones recently saying any player who kneels during the national anthem will be benched. It doesn’t sound like the meeting accomplished much, however, as coaches did not want to speak for the team owner.
The #Cowboys had a team meeting today to discuss the anthem issue & air out their frustrations, sources say. In the wake of Jerry’s comments
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 11, 2017
While members of the coaching staff listened and discussed it, ultimately players were essentially told to ask Jerry Jones. https://t.co/MCzAaJWafP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 11, 2017
By basically banning players from protesting during the national anthem, Jones has come out stronger than any other NFL owner who would prefer it if players didn’t kneel. Jones had explained in the past why he disagrees with anthem protests, but he never explicitly said he would punish any player who chose to do it.
Jones tried to show solidarity with his players by kneeling in Week 4 with them before the national anthem, and he said this week that he hoped threatening to bench players who kneeled during “The Star-Spangled Banner” would remove his team from the anthem discussion. Obviously, the comments have done anything but.
