When the NFL released a statement through Commissioner Roger Goodell last Friday night, the league as an entity threw a message of support behind its players in the pursuit against systemic racism.
San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman wants to hear that message of support directly from individual owners themselves. Especially Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
According to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Sherman said Jones’ ever-present voice in the NFL is conspicuously absent at the moment.
“It’s not pulling them like it is the rest of the country,” Sherman said of the owners. “Because if it was, then they’d speak. Jerry Jones, especially, has no problem speaking up any other time about anything else. But when it’s such a serious issue, and he could really make a huge impact on it with a few words, his silence speaks volumes.”
Jones is as visible an owner as any in the NFL. He is regularly available to the media after every game the Cowboys play. He has a weekly radio show appearance in Dallas and is never shy about sharing his views. He’s also one of the league’s most influential owners as well.
Jones’ voice is also of consequence as he steadfastly declared in 2017 that all Cowboys players will stand during the anthem and if any statement is viewed as disrespectful “we won’t play. Period.” Jones’ son, Stephen, also indicated that players that violated that edict would be summarily released.
So far, the Cowboys released a two-minute video last week about their social justice efforts that did not directly feature the Jones family.
Sherman did say that he believes there has been a shift in the way the subject is currently being discussed around the league.
“But I think this time society has moved forward to the point where they’re able to have a conversation and their family understands, ‘Hey, (black) people have had a tough go at it. They deal with inequities at all levels. And maybe it is time to start understanding that and seeing that even though it doesn’t affect us as much,’” Sherman said.