Many people all over the world have been speaking up against police brutality over the last two weeks in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
We have seen the Dallas Cowboys issue a statement, and before that the team’s starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, pledged one million dollars to help improve police training throughout the country.
The Cowboys are not alone as people with platforms from all walks of life have made their voices heard lately. Specifically in the world of athletics, though, over 1,400 current and former players, coaches, general managers, and the like all signed a bill to end qualified immunity which, as ESPN put it, makes it difficult to sue police officers for brutality.
Several past and present Dallas Cowboys have signed the bill
We obviously know how Dak Prescott feels given his pledge and statement, and we also know that the Cowboys as an organization made a unified statement. We now know a little bit more as some names that have signed the bill have emerged and there are a handful of people with Cowboys connections.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, as far as active Cowboys go, Amari Cooper signed the bill alongside Dak Prescott. DeMarcus Ware and Nate Newton also apparently signed it.
Many other notable people across sports all signed the bill. These were the Dallas Cowboys that chose to do so. For what it’s worth Ezekiel Elliott was not listed as a name that signed it, but he was part of the video that a group of NFL players put together that called on the league to hear their voices.
Jerry Jones has had his name mentioned by multiple people in all of this
Last Sunday, former Cowboy wide receiver Dez Bryant tweeted that Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, and Las Vegas Raiders tight end (still weird to type) Jason Witten should have been at a protest being held in Austin. What Dez meant is clearly only known by Dez himself, he did add some further context in the aftermath of his comment.
Somebody should have brought Jerry jones Stephen jones and Jason witten to this protest down in Austin......this is not a policy change this is a heart change and yea I said it
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 7, 2020
After Bryant’s comments, San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman commented publicly on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and specifically noted how Jerry hasn’t said anything himself while the country and entire world are speaking up. ESPN transcribed what he had to say about NFL owners and Jerry in particular.
“It’s not pulling them like it is the rest of the country,” the veteran cornerback told the newspaper. “Because if it was, then they’d speak. Jerry Jones, especially, has no problem speaking up any other time about anything else. But when it’s such a serious issue, and he could really make a huge impact on it with a few words, his silence speaks volumes.”
Jerry Jones was very outspoken about the kneeling protests during the national anthem a few years back; he was very opposed to any Cowboys player taking such an action. In this new world, many are interested in hearing his thoughts about that, and the changes going on in society today. Both the Dallas Morning News (here) and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (here) have written on this subject in the past day.
As mentioned the Cowboys released a statement as an organization last week. At the time of this writing that is the only message that has come from them.