Richard Sherman calls out Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ‘plantation mentality’ over NFL protest
[griojw id=”zDT07XMI” playerid=”GqX43ZoG”]
San Francisco 49er Richard Sherman is pulling no punches and said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has a “plantation mentality” for backing a policy that would penalize players for kneeling on the field during the national anthem to protest of police brutality.
—Austin, Texas considers renaming city over ties to slaveowner—
“The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, with the old plantation mentality,” Sherman, 29, told, USA Today. “What did you expect?”
Jones spoke out publicly saying that he expects his players to all stand for the national anthem. “Our policy is you stand during the anthem, toe on the line,” Jones told reporters.
The NFL however, is still working out the kinks of the policy with the players league after they voted to levy a financial penalty against players and staff who kneel on the field but still allow players who want to protest to remain in the locker room without retribution.
Jones didn’t agree.
Sherman, who is part of the NFLPA’s executive committee, said while he’s glad the conversation is being had about penalizing players for doing something they believe in, the core issue is still not being dealt with.
“They’re having the conversations; that’s awesome,” he said. “But there are unintended consequences. If they did this [original policy] to appease people, they didn’t appease anyone. It’s like putting a Band-Aid over a broken leg.”
Recently, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said unlike Jones, his team owner Jeffrey Lurie has supported the players choice to protest.
“Jeffrey’s been very supportive of us from the beginning,” Jenkins said, according to NJ.com. “I don’t see Jeffrey as a bully like Jerry Jones is. Lucky for me, I don’t play for the Cowboys, nor would I want to.
“It’s unfortunate that you have owners like him that use his position to intimidate and intentionally thwart even the idea of his players thinking individually or having a voice about issues that affect their communities daily. It’s unfortunate,” he continued.