There has been a loud silence out of Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys’ brass when it comes to the protests against social injustice and racial equality.
A player known as a leader throughout his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, and now the Cowboys, wants the team’s owner to speak up.
“You have the players, who have their own brand, but we’re all under the umbrella of the Dallas Cowboys,” Gerald McCoy said. “The Dallas Cowboys are the most recognized franchise in the world. They can get behind it, whether it’s the players or just being in the movement, period, and showing their support. It would be great to hear a statement from the Cowboys, great to hear a statement from Jerry Jones in support of everything that’s going on. Will that get me in trouble saying that? I don’t know, but the truth is it needs to be said. The problem is people are afraid to have the conversations.”
McCoy was doing his part Friday in Oklahoma, walking 2.5 miles in support of Fort Worth resident Opal Lee’s push to make Juneteenth a national holiday.
Lee, a 93-year-old retired schoolteacher, is walking 2.5 miles to symbolize the 2.5 years slaves had to wait from the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation to their actual freedom, Juneteenth,
“I’m so glad she brought awareness to this — that’s why it’s so great, that’s why I’m trying to spread as much about this as possible so this becomes regular on Juneteenth, walk 2.5 miles to commemorate the two and a half years the slaves didn’t know they were free,” McCoy told ESPN. “This is something I’m going to continue and be glad to continue. Even when it becomes a national holiday, I’ll do even more then.”
The argument for making it a national holiday is simple: That’s the day when everyone in the country finally became free.
“Our true independence as African Americans, our true day of freedom should be celebrated nationally,” McCoy said. “Independence Day is celebrated nationally, but that envelope was not pushed since that didn’t free everybody, that wasn’t about everybody. The Emancipation Proclamation was finalized in 1863, but it wasn’t until 1865 that all slaves in Texas realized that we are free. That should be celebrated nationally.”
