Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday that he hopes to strike a compromise that will avoid player protests during the national anthem. Although no one from the Cowboys has spoken out against Jones’ effort to persuade players not to exercise their rights -- as underscored recently by the Commissioner -- Packers guard Billy Turner has made his views clear.
“I saw the comments that Jerry Jones made about his team, hoping that the team could do something together before the anthem, and then stand for the anthem,” Turner said Friday, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. “That’s not what protesting is about. Protesting the national anthem is to get a point across that society and everyone watching football games every Sunday has a chance to see so you get your point across. The idea of protesting is to make people that are higher up -- like our President -- notice what we are doing. We understand that he doesn’t like that. Why do you think we continue to protest? Because nothing has changed.”
Turner nevertheless believes that protests shouldn’t yield to boycotts. Yet.
"[W]e can go out there and boycott football games,” Turner said. “Sure, we can do that. That’s easy. What change is that going to bring initially and right away? Football fans across the country and the world pissed off because they can’t watch football. What is that negativity going to bring to the world because we’re not out there playing this game? I don’t know that that necessarily creates change initially.”
Turner’s comments come at a time when uncertainty has emerged regarding the possibility of boycotts. Even if things settle down in the aftermath of the latest incident that prompted an unprecedented reaction within the sports world, if/when the next video emerges between now and the Super Bowl, it’s impossible to rule out players skipping games.
Meanwhile, Jones is scheduled to appear again on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. On Friday, he surprisingly wasn’t asked about the anthem situation. On Tuesday, he undoubtedly will be asked to address the situation again, given everything that has transpired since last Tuesday -- and whatever else may happen in the next three days.