The Cowboys organization will be attending a private memorial service for Jerry Brown on Tuesday. Jason Garrett spoke about it briefly at his press conference today, saying Brown's family will attend. The question of whether Josh Brent will attend is still up in the air, although Garrett said he thought Brent would. Sources have said that Brent is devastated and isn't sure about attending, he wants to be respectful to the Brown family.
The Cowboys are supporting Brent in trying to cope with the tragedy. Jason Garrett has talked to Brent and let him know that the Cowboys organization loves him and that Valley Ranch is open to him for any support he needs.
"He too is a teammate, somebody who is so well respected in our locker room, someone we love very much," Garrett said. "Very challenging situation that he’s in right now. Josh and Jerry were really close. They were close in college at Illinois. And there was no one more excited in our organization when we signed Jerry Brown. Josh was jumping up and down, ‘That’s my boy. That’s my boy. You got to bring my boy here. My boy can play.’ He told everybody that. "They lived together down here. He opened his doors to his good buddy. They were best friends. They spent an immense amount of time together. They were close. They were teammates in college. They were roommates in college. They were teammates here. They were roommates here. And obviously he’s going through as difficult a time as anybody and we just talked about it last night. We just have to be there for him."
As for the closeness between the two, that sentiment is echoed by Browns family.
Jerry’s father said despite the tragedy, he knows what Brown would want for Joshua Brent- the man driving the vehicle that crashed and killed him. "I know he don’t want his friend to get locked up," Jerry Brown Sr. said. "He was the best friend he had."
Brown will be buried this coming weekend.
Visitation for Jerry Brown will be Friday evening at Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church. The funeral service will be held Saturday morning at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. Then there will be a memorial at Vashon High School on Saturday afternoon.
Garret also noted in his press conference what kind of guy Jerry Brown was, his upbeat personality and his drive and determination. Garrett said he had written his name down several times in his notes as a player they had high hopes for, that they were grooming for playing time.
Meanwhile, the club where they were drinking the night of the accident will be investigated.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is investigating a nightclub where Dallas Cowboys players may have been drinking before a one-vehicle crash in which player Jerry Brown Jr. died early Saturday morning, a commission official said Monday. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission spokeswoman Carolyn Beck said the agency routinely investigates whenever a death occurs and alcohol may be a contributing factor. "We will be trying to determine whether alcohol was sold to an intoxicated person," Beck said. The investigation could take months, she said.