While national anthem protests took center stage Sunday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made his feelings quite clear earlier in the week on national anthem protests.
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"I do not think the place to express yourself in society is as we recognize the American flag," Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told FOX Business' Cheryl Casone last week at a gala celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Forbes magazine. "So that's not the place to do anything other than honor the flag and everybody that's given up a little bit for it."
Despite those statements, he's never told players they will be fired, per Scout.
"I'm told no player has been threatened with a "you're fired!'' edict if he breaks ranks — but again, it is the intention of ownership and the team Leadership Council that the players' effort be a bonded one, maybe even including the locking of arms during the Anthem. (Worth noting: I don't dismiss the idea of a player interpreting the combined wishes of Jones and the Leadership Council as an "or-else edict,'' even though that's not their intent.)"
That stance appears not to have changed following Donald Trump's explosive "get that son of a b***h off the field," comments, as the Cowboys are not expected to take part in any of the anthem protest festivities:
No Cowboys expected to protest, per Garrett_ even though players across league plan to do so after Trump remarks https://t.co/uoWvT8wVIP
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) September 23, 2017
LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Colin Kaepernick's mother, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, the NFL players and the NFL Players Association all called out Trump following the comments.
At an event on Friday evening, Trump discussed the protests as "disrespect", saying that he would love to see an NFL owner "get that son of a bitch off the field."
https://twitter.com/nick_ramsey/status/911391835888726017
Trump: Wouldn’t you love one of the NFL owners when someone disrespects our flag, "get that son of a bitch off the field right now"
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) September 23, 2017
The full quote from Trump:
Wouldn't you love one of these NFL owners... when someone disrespects our flag say, "Get that son of a bitch off the field, right now, out, he's fired."
The live crowd applauded the comments from the President.
Trump also referenced NFL ratings, which are down so far this year, and blamed the drop on the protests negatively affecting the game.
The clear shot here seems to be taken at former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was the driving force behind the protests last year. Many players across many different teams and sports have since joined in on the protest during the anthem, generating a clear controversy between two sides of the country.
