Cowboys Statement: ‘Racism & Hatred Must Stop’
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys on Friday issued a statement regarding social injustice in America.
“Our hearts are burning with anger and sadness,” the Cowboys say as part of their video message. “Racism and hatred have to stop. We have to come together to change the system."
In the wake of George Floyd's murder at the hands of police and at the dawn of change, now is the time for action – not just action verbs.
The Cowboys are now pledging to do so, joining other sports leaders in DFW.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been verbal and visible during the protests. His team put out a statement last Sunday night.
The Texas Rangers, too, released their response via social media, condemning racism and “pledging to help be part of meaningful change in our society.” General manager Jon Daniels went a step further, saying eloquently “It’s hard to see. It stirs a lot of feelings, emotions, fear. To state the obvious, I'm not black; I can't sit here and put myself in the shoes of somebody who is, and I don't have the same response to it or fears as far as how it might affect myself or my kids personally, walking down the block. But I've just been trying to look at it from the perspective of: what can we learn? More importantly, how can we ultimately help?”
And as of Thursday, 18 NFL teams had released some form of a statement. But until now, not a peep from the Cowboys, who in the past have indeed engaged in non-football issues such as protesting the national anthem. (A team source told me on Thursday night, “We’re working on something,” but how difficult was a dang statement?)
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti is donating $1 million. Saints owner Gayle Benson formed a Social Justice Leadership coalition. About 70 percent of NFL players are black. All but two owners are white. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is powerful. When he leads, businessmen follow. When he speaks, fans listen. When he’s silent, it’s disturbing. Racism, inequality, and police brutality will not be solved with a tweet or press release. But a conversation is a starting point.
And now, thankfully, Jones and the Cowboys are publicly involved in that conversation. It can be argued that the Cowboys didn't need to "take a side'' - maybe because, as our Mike Fisher says above, "When it comes to acknowledging that racism is evil, how can there be but one side?''
But this is important, as we are all better-served to have been alerted by the Cowboys that even without "taking sides,'' they are at least taking notice.
