Posted on July 24, 2017, by Travis Pulver
Jerry Jones has been good for many things during his tenure as owner of the Dallas Cowboys. Those ‘things’ are not always ‘things’ fans care about. But there is one that has brought copious amounts of joy and pleasure to fans everywhere. No one sticks his foot in his mouth quite like Jerry Jones does.
Who can forget his ‘glory hole’ statement? Or his ‘500 coaches’ line? Who can forget the time he talked about how Troy Aikman looks good in the shower?
Via @Joy105com
Yes, good ole Jerry has said some great ones over the years, but one of his best may have come recently when he commented on the off-field issues and character questions that seem to bombard the team continually.
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Jerry Jones: "We've got a high bar here." Says Dallas Cowboys don't have tolerance for off the field issues
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 23, 2017
Really Jerry? Come on! How long did you hold on to Greg Hardy? Joseph Randle was a piece of work too. Let’s not forget Damien Wilson’s recent arrest for aggravated assault, Nolan Carroll’s DUI, and Josh Brent’s intoxication manslaughter conviction.
To be fair, plenty of teams have had more players get arrested, but no one else is making a broad proclamation about the importance and value of character. In some cases, it is admirable that the team stands next to guys rather than tossing them aside at the first sign of trouble.
But that doesn’t excuse signing someone like Greg Hardy, conviction or not.
Again, in the interest of fairness, maybe Jerry is talking more about the here and now. Maybe he is talking about the guys on the roster heading into 2017. But then he drafted a guy facing misdemeanor domestic violence charges and has a running back contesting a 100 MPH speeding ticket, pulled down a woman’s top during a parade, and supposedly assaulted someone recently.
Let’s not forget the laundry list of players that have been suspended for drug use over the last few years.
Character has clearly not been a prerequisite for the Dallas Cowboys at any time during Jerry Jones’ tenure as owner. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be now—starting with former wide receiver Lucky Whitehead.
Whitehead was cut hours after the new broke that there was a warrant out for his arrest in Virginia for shoplifting roughly $40 in goods from a convenience store. The arrest supposedly took place on June 22. After Whitehead failed to appear for his July 6 court date an arrest warrant was issued.
The incident is vaguely reminiscent of Joseph Randle’s arrest for shoplifting cologne and underwear because he didn’t feel like paying for them. It’ stupid and makes no sense.
Why would Whitehead shoplift from a convenience store? In his first two seasons with the team, he made $960,000. After you take away his agent’s cut and account for taxes, he should still be able to afford a run to the convenience store.
Via @cowboys_fanly
But it made no sense for Randle to do it so maybe Whitehead is guilty.
His agent says he isn’t and that he wasn’t even in the state of Virginia at the time of the arrest. But the team didn’t appear to believe him, and they cut him.
So– the Dallas Cowboys are tough on character issues just like Jones said, right? Or are they…
Whitehead was already on the roster bubble heading into camp. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, and Cole Beasley are not going anywhere. Everyone seems to love rookie Ryan Switzer, and they drafted another wide receiver in the seventh, Noah Brown.
The likelihood Whitehead was going to make the cut was minimal. By cutting him now, the team looks tough on character and gets rid of a guy they were probably going to get rid of anyway.
So—do the Cowboys now have a high bar when it comes to character or did Lucky Whitehead get served up as a sacrificial lamb?