Jerry Jones: Trump’s Anthem Interest "Problematic" but Still Wants Cowboys to Stand

Jerry Jones wants players on the Dallas Cowboys to stand during the national anthem — but he wants to be the one to tell them to do it, not President Trump.

During a press conference at the team’s practice facility, Jones talked about the continued controversy surrounding the NFL’s handling of player protests during the anthem and Trump’s involvement in the matter.

Jones — who previously said Trump’s tweets led the NFL to adopt their now-on-hold new policy — said the Cowboys want their players standing for the anthem with their toes “on the line,” but acknowledged he wanted the president’s chatter about the protests to go away.

“His interest in what we’re doing is problematic, from my chair, and I would say in general the owners’ chair,” Jones told reporters. “It’s unprecedented, if you really think about it. But like the very game itself, that’s the way it is and we’ll deal with it. We feel strongly about how we deal with it and we’ll do so accordingly, but, yes, I, like everybody, would like for it to go away.”

In a somewhat related vein, the owner’s son also announced the team would be continuing their relationship with disgraced Papa John’s founder John Schnatter’s use of a racial slur.

Other pro sports teams, including MLB as a whole, have severed their relationships with the chain.

“[Those teams] do not have the same relationship that the Cowboys have with the Papa John’s business in Texas,” said executive vice president Stephen Jones. “We own the Papa John’s in Texas and feel strongly that our Cowboys are the face of Papa John’s and that judgment is warranted by what we’ve done over the last 15 years.”

One thing we learned from Jerry Jones and others today regarding the NFL’s anthem policy, the focus is off of where the league, players and owners wanted it to be as training camp opens. pic.twitter.com/DXKCoc4NUQ

— Steve Wyche (@wyche89) July 25, 2018