Former Dallas Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant sent out several sharp tweets addressed to team owner Jerry Jones and his son, team vice president Stephen Jones amid the Black Lives Matter protests.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Austin, Texas on Sunday — one of the many BLM demonstrations across the US. While it is unclear if Bryant joined the protests, he called out the Jones family and Cowboys legend and former teammate Jason Witten.
Somebody should have brought Jerry jones Stephen jones and Jason witten to this protest down in Austin……this is not a policy change this is a heart change and yea I said it
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 7, 2020
Bryant followed it up with two more tweets to expound on what he was trying to say. He noted that he was simply basing it off his own experiences.
I’m just going based off my personal experiences… https://t.co/26LSO7IUr9
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 7, 2020
You are correct… I don’t feel like I’m calling them out but I feel they will get a different understanding of what unity really look like https://t.co/rsp5Mj5Rjm
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) June 7, 2020
Interestingly, the Cowboys organization actually posted a video about the protests two days before Dez Bryant's tweets. It featured Dak Prescott, Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford and Byron Jones.
https://twitter.com/dallascowboys/status/1268953496352677889?s=20
Bryant's tweet seem to hark back almost three years ago when Jerry Jones said that the anthem protests — started by Colin Kaepernick — are damaging the NFL.
“There is no question the league is suffering negative effects from these protests,” Jones said at the time, per The Guardian.
Now, amid the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, some team owners chose to be silent. With that said, the players took it into their own hands to do something about it. A powerful video that included Patrick Mahomes, Saquon Barkley, Odell Beckham Jr, and many more made rounds all over social media.
#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/sfwF9Uvgaa
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) June 5, 2020
Moreover, in a surprising move, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized to those players who got suspended for taking a knee during the national anthem. In addition, he also pledged support to those players involved in the BLM movement, asking them on how the league can improve.
“We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter. Protests around the country are emblematic of the centuries of silence, inequality and oppression of black players, coaches, fans and staff. I will be reaching out to players who have raised their voices and others on how we can improve.”
We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/ENWQP8A0sv
— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2020