Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins just slam dunked on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and he did so articulately and peacefully.
Regardless, of what side you’re on, there continues to be debate about the National Anthem protests and every comment made on both sides. That will, now, include statements made by Dallas Cowboys owner, president, and general manager, Jerry Jones. Recently, his name’s been added to the discussion. He said, going forward, his players “wouldn’t play” if they kneel during the singing of the National Anthem. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is one of those players. He chooses to raise a fist during the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner”. Immediately following Jones’ statement, he had a response.
“I would still do it,” said Jenkins. This was on a recent appearance with NBC Sports-Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn.
Debate rages on, and so does controversy on a sensitive subject:
Recently, some of the NFL‘s owners have made it clear that they’ll now take a new stance. Their intent is to assure fans players who demonstrate won’t do so without sitting out of some in-game action. Jones was included in that number. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, on the other hand, has tried to understand what his players are doing. He acknowledges that Jenkins is merely using his platform to make others aware against social injustice. He even came down to field level to link arms with his players once. His intent was to show solidarity following comments that were made by President Donald Trump.
Jenkins is and always has been appreciative of his team’s owner and spoke on that as well.
Here’s more of what Jenkins had to say:
"I’ve been that committed to it because that decision is not mine. I made the decision a year ago that I was going to use my platform in a way to create positive change both on the field and off the field…. Having someone tell me I couldn’t do that simply because, you know, a president or your bottom line is getting ready to be affected, that wouldn’t deter me….My first reaction is that I’m grateful that Jeffrey Lurie not only did not express those kinds of feelings but has proactively been in the community and has reached out to try and hear about the issues that we are actually demonstrating to draw attention to."
So what if Lurie took a similar stance to Jones? Jenkins answered that question as well. He was articulate and respectful to the Eagles owner, the flag and his detractors.
Take a look:
"If (Lurie) were to put out such a statement I’d continue my demonstration because my demonstration is in no way disrespectful to our flag, our country or our service members. Neither is anybody in the league who is kneeling. I think we’ve made that very clear that what we are demonstrating about has nothing to do with the flag but everything to do with social injustice, racial inequality and the things that, you know, Jerry Jones and other owners who are making statements have yet to address, and so I’d love to hear their takes on that part of the conversation… What these players are trying to draw attention to…. Their thoughts on, you know, police brutality and racial inequality, education gap, the economical gap in these communities that they make money in."
It appears debate will continue to rage on for a while. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.