As Cowboys executive V.P. Stephen Jones inches farther into the ownership spotlight previously occupied exclusively by his father, Jerry, Stephen needs to learn one important principle from the guy who bought the team 23 years ago.
You say it, you own it.
Jerry Jones rarely if ever complains about the manner in which his words are interpreted and/or scrutinized and/or highlighted by the media. Instead, he just gives the media more words to interpret and/or scrutinize and/or highlight.
In a Friday interview with KLRD radio, Stephen Jones complained about the ongoing absence of first-round draft pick Morris Claiborne from practice due to injury. On Saturday, Stephen Jones took issue with the fact that his words were regarded as complaints about the ongoing absence of first-round draft pick Morris Claiborne from practice due to injury.
Per Clarence E. Hill, Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Stephen Jones “expressed anger” regarding the situation. “I didn’t rip Mo,” Jones said. “It’s wrong. There’s no frustration at all. I have zero worries about Mo Claiborne. How that gets out there is beyond me.”
Though Hill’s published article makes no references of any bleepity-bleeping by Stephen Jones, Hill said on Twitter that Stephen Jones used “curse words” to demonstrate his anger.
As long as Stephen Jones’ curse words were directed at himself, we’ve got no problem with it. But when the guy who is becoming more and more visible and vocal in the affairs of one of the highest-profile pro sports franchises says of Claiborne that “he certainly can’t make the club in the tub” and that "[h]e’s got to get out there” and that "[w]e got to start having a mentality that we’re going to play through things” and that "[t]here’s no excuse” and that "[y]ou don’t ever see Jason Witten missing practice” and that “we got to have the young guys step up and play better,” it’s hard to give much credence to any effort to scrape the toothpaste off the ceiling, floor, and walls and cram it back into the tube.
As Jerry Jones has proven over the years, if/when you say something newsworthy that gives you plenty of heartburn, the best thing to do is to say something else newsworthy that gives you less heartburn. If Stephen Jones doesn’t figure that one out quickly, he’s going to have plenty of heartburn in the not-too-distant future.