Will NFL Suspend Cowboys' Damontae Kazee for DWI Arrest?
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys, as we write this, have yet to be informed as to what the NFL will decide in the form of punishment for Damontae Kazee’s recent DWI-related arrest.
“I have not heard from the NFL,'' owner Jerry Jones said via 105.3 The Fan on Friday. "That has a protocol. … I don’t know the particulars of the arrest, so we’ll wait and see how that goes.''
Our sense is that the Cowboys do indeed "know the particulars of the arrest,'' with coach Mike McCarthy recently acknowledging that he has visited with Kazee, a veteran starting safety in his first year in Dallas.
“I visited with Damontae today. It’s unfortunate,” McCarthy said last week. “We’re definitely aware of everything that went on. It’s a pending legal matter right now. I really can’t comment much further than that.”
Actually, the "pending legal matter'' is not the Cowboys' issue; that is between Kazee, his attorney, law enforcement and the courts, which will be in charge of how to handle the aftermath of Kazee's ... arrest in The Colony on the DUI charge.
No, Dallas' concern is that Kazee's fate is at the mercy of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who could suspend the player if found in violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. There is apparently precedent that includes punishments of one, two and three games.
Kazee was arrested at about 3 a.m. on October 19, the beginning of Dallas' bye week. An officer who'd pulled him over for an alleged traffic violation noted “physical signs” of impairment before Kazee admitted to consuming alcohol, according to the police report.
Signed to a one-year contract in March, former Atlanta Falcons standout Kazee has been in on 17 tackles, with three pass deflections, one interception and a forced fumble in six games for the 5-1 Cowboys, who, led by QB Dak Prescott have a three-game lead in the NFC East. While Dallas has developed depth at the position, Kazee, 28, has participated in 90 percent of the defensive snaps, which plays at Minnesota on Sunday night.
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