Current:Home > MarketsCowboys' Jerry Jones wants more NFL owners of color. He has a lot of gall saying that now. -GrowthProspect
Cowboys' Jerry Jones wants more NFL owners of color. He has a lot of gall saying that now.
View
Date:2025-04-18 12:47:34
Jerry Jones has a lot of gall. This isn't new. He's had a lot of gall since he bought the Dallas Cowboys decades ago. That gall has served Jones well and helped him build a football empire that, in the end, might end up being the richest in American sports history. But this particular moment of Jones gall is, well, the most galling of all.
In what is an incredibly staggering moment in the life of Jones, he said that he wants to push for more NFL owners of color. The story was so unbelievable it didn't seem real. I checked the date. Nope. Not April 1. It was real.
"Nobody got in on a wing and prayer any more than I did, and I really couldn't afford it," Jones said. "But I got into it and as we look and see − and we do see − the qualified potential buyers out here that can get involved and that's one way. It's not the only way.
"(There are) multiple ways to address inequity. Multiple ways to go do it. And certainly I would think about one way is to try to work to get ownership improved in the minority area. And I'm all for it and I do it. I work at it. I work at it."
That was several days ago. Jones made similar remarks in a radio interview Tuesday on the Shan & RJ show on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan: "I don’t have a lot to add in general … I’m very active, and I’m very positive about having minority potential ownership in the National Football League … The main reason I’m qualified to say that (is because) I came from the back of the pack to get to be a part of ownership. I certainly was not listed anywhere in the thousands and thousands and thousands of people on this Earth as someone that was financially qualified to own an NFL team … My position is the opposite from what I am being critiqued for … I understand because I know the times we’re in. But I want to be a good soldier here.”
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
The galling part to all of this?
Journalist Jim Trotter, a former NFL Media employee, recently filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. Part of the suit alleges that Jones said, in front of Trotter and others: "If Blacks feel some kind of way, they should buy their own team and hire who they want to hire."
So Jones saying now, literally just days after Trotter's accusations became public, that the league needs more diversity among its ownership, is really something.
Jim Trotter alleges NFL racial discrimination. His claims are huge problem for the league.
Really, really something.
You see, Jones is a majority owner, and people like him make the decisions about their teams and the league. He has been the centrifuge of NFL power for some time. I'm unaware of any extensive effort by Jones to bring in owners of color. It may have happened but I've just never heard about it.
The Cowboys are also one of the NFL teams that have never had a Black head coach. Why should anyone believe he'd push to get owners of color but hasn't even hired a Black head coach? He's owned the team since 1989.
It's possible this topic has been a passion of Jones' for decades and he's spoken about it repeatedly and privately with other owners or Commissioner Roger Goodell. Maybe also in the past Jones has spoken publicly in this way before about this desire to diversify the ownership ranks and I'm missing those comments.
However, and this is important, even if all of that did happen, it wouldn't nullify the fact that Jones is talking publicly about it now. The timing is the problem. It reeks of public relations and a reaction to Trotter's lawsuit.
To me, Jones saying these things gives even more weight to Trotter's claims that were already highly credible.
Jones has denied Trotter's allegations and did so again to ESPN.
"Jim's a friend and I think a lot of him," Jones said. "I hate that we've got some litigation and hopefully we will address all of that, but the overall concern I would say is just not accurate."
Jones added this: "You know the financial hurdles for everything has gone up, but percentage-wise there are qualified people out here. If they aren't here this minute, they're on their way because that's what's happening in this country is people do gain on it and many of the people that recently have gotten involved in the NFL might not have been able to do it 20 years ago.
Vikings' Alexander Mattison reveals racial abuse from fans after fumble in loss to Eagles
"So, continuing to share thoughts and ideas with other people about being involved and from ownership is something that I can speak to. I've wanted it when I couldn't afford it and I am a big disciple, so to speak, that you can do it."
No one is saying Jones is racist. I am, however, saying that on this subject, Jones is full of it.
It seems more that Trotter's lawsuit caught Jones by surprise and stunned both him and the league. This was Jones' way of trying to minimize the damage. It didn't work.
Despite the massive amount of gall.
veryGood! (1963)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- NFL Week 10 winners, losers: Cowboys' season can no longer be saved
- Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 9 drawing: Jackpot rises to $92 million
- New wildfires burn in US Northeast while bigger blazes rage out West
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly decline, shrugging off Wall Street’s overnight rally
- Sting Says Sean Diddy Combs Allegations Don't Taint His Song
- Britney Spears Reunites With Son Jayden Federline After His Move to Hawaii
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Mike Tyson emerges as heavyweight champ among product pitchmen before Jake Paul fight
Ranking
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- Nearly 80,000 pounds of Costco butter recalled for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Throws Shade At Her DWTS Partner Sasha Farber Amid Romance Rumors
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Klay Thompson returns to Golden State in NBA Cup game. How to watch
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
- Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony
Recommendation
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
Fantasy football Week 11: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
New wildfires burn in US Northeast while bigger blazes rage out West
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Judith Jamison, acclaimed Alvin Ailey American dancer and director, dead at 81
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will spend part of week in DC as he tries to Trump-proof state policies
What does the top five look like and other questions facing the College Football Playoff committee