If/when the Cowboys host fans in 2020 and if/when some players or coaches kneel during the anthem, there’s a good chance they’re going to hear it.
Dallas and Nashville met last night in Texas as the MLS restarted its regular season in local markets. Via the Associated Press, a “smattering of boos” emerged as both teams kneeled during the national anthem. The reaction prompted a response from Dallas defender Reggie Cannon.
“You can’t even have support from your own fans in your own stadium. It’s baffling to me,” Cannon said after the game. “As a team we try to give the best possible product on the field and these last six months have been absolute hell for us. Absolute hell. . . .
“We had someone chanting U.S.A., but they don’t understand what kneeling means. They don’t understand why we’re kneeling. They can’t see the reason. They think we’re the ignorant ones. It’s incredibly frustrating. I’m sorry to have this tone, but you have to call it for what it is. . . . It hurts me because I love our fans, I love this club, and I want to see the support that the league has given us, that everyone has given us, from our fans.”
Cannon said that the players had asked that the anthem not be played.
The situation relevant to the NFL for obvious reasons, because it’s the first major American sporting event involving both kneeling and fans in attendance since the killing of George Floyd. It also underscores the needle through which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is trying to cram a camel, using “grace” as the grease.