Cowboys players received a malicious dose of criticism from a surprising source after their blowout loss to the Bills on Sunday: Their own fanbase.
Following the Cowboys’ 31–10 loss to Buffalo, fans reportedly leaked a few players’ personal information online, according to The Dallas Morning News’s Calvin Watkins.
Safeties Jayron Kearse and Juanyeh Thomas took the brunt of the heat after fans posted Kearse’s family’s address and Thomas’s phone number to social media.
Thomas told The Dallas Morning News, “I can take criticism. But you do cross a line when you start doing dumb stuff like that, for real. It’s a line you can’t cross when you start sharing people’s addresses and numbers and stuff. At the end of the day, this is still a game. People got a life.”
Social media posts are out of control. https://t.co/kvwSXVjHOw
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) December 21, 2023
“I had to change my number,” Thomas continued. “People [were] texting me, calling me. I’m like damn, bro, I don’t even know how people can leak your number.”
In the Sunday's defeat, Jayron Kearse picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave Buffalo a critical first down and ultimately led to a touchdown; he later pled his case that it was a legal hit.
Kyle Terada/USA TODAY
The Cowboys’ secondary has needed to step up in light of injuries to Trevon Diggs, C.J. Goodwin and Malik Hooker, and while the defense still remains a top-10 unit, Week 15’s humiliating loss to the Bills exposed several weaknesses.
Despite the Cowboys' disappointing performance, there is never a reasonable excuse to violate players’ privacy or condone harassment.
The Cowboys will look to bounce back against the Dolphins at 4:25 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve.
