Jerry Jones Feels ‘Very Strongly’ Players Should Recognize the Flag ‘In a Positive Way’

Jerry Jones doesn’t think his players should be protesting during the national anthem.

Don’t expect to see Cowboys players demonstrating during the national anthem this season. 

Dallas owner Jerry Jones made it very clear in a radio interview on Tuesday that he’s staunchly opposed to the practice of protesting during the anthem. 

“I just feel so strongly that the act of recognizing the flag is a salute to our country and all of the people that have sacrificed so that we can have the liberties we have,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan and RJ. “I feel very strongly that everyone should save that moment for the recognition of the flag in a positive way, so I like the way the Cowboys do it.”

• Every NFL Player Who Has Protested During the National Anthem this Preseason

Jones’s comments make you wonder how many other owners have communicated similar messages to their players in private. Giants owner John Mara echoed a similar sentiment earlier this summer, telling The MMQB that his team had received massive amounts of angry feedback from fans about Colin Kaepernick’s protest. That isn’t to say, though, that players will avoid protesting simply because people in positions of authority prefer they not. Browns head coach Hue Jackson made it clear that he prefer his players not protest but then more than 10 players kneeled before Monday’s game against the Giants—the largest such protest in the NFL over the past two seasons. 

Jones has made no secret of his views on the national anthem. Early last season when Kaepernick’s protest was just beginning and other players had started to join him, Jones commended his players for all standing for the anthem and said he found the protests around the league “really disappointing.”