Jerry Jones often says he is the final decision maker for the Dallas Cowboys, but he's been bent over and spanked by the President of the United States.
Sorry Jerry, Donald Trump just owned America's Team.
Jerry is worth north of $1 billion but has run into the one entity he can't overrule, buy or bully. Perhaps it's karma for all of the coaches Jerry has gelded over the years. He had this one coming.
No owner in sports has sided and defended his players more, often in the face of damning and awful behaviors. But on the touchy subject of a knee, Jerry is not with the players but with our fearless, God-fearing President.
Because Jerry knows most of you are. On this, never confuse Jerry's mandate to stand at the flag as patriotism, for this is capitalism at its finest.
The whole episode continues to embarrass the NFL, Jerry and his players, too. Jerry may be a diehard Republican, but no one on this planet wants Trump out of office more than he does. Jerry and the NFL are being tossed around by a Twitter account.
Trump is one of the few times when a Republican President is not good for a big business.
All this saga continues to do is expose what we simply don't want to admit: Racism remains a thriving verb in these, The United States of America.
The NFL endorses Breast Cancer Awareness projects, brokers what is essentially a commercial deal with the U.S. defense department, but for some reason the idea of shedding light on racial inequity is a no-fly zone.
Whatever real, or perceived, accomplishment Trump may achieve in his presidency, nothing will give him more personal satisfaction than this sideshow with the NFL. Trump is, at heart, just another insecure, star-craved entertainer who seeks the validation from the masses on shallow issues.
It would make sense that he would derive more enjoyment from belittling an entertainment entity like the NFL, which once crushed him in court, than some dull foreign policy his advisers tell him to sign.
At the core of any good Republican is the ethos that the stupid, red-taped government should not interfere with private businesses. On this, however, the leader of our government has been given the green light to bully policy normally handled by an HR department.
We all hate the government, until we need it to do what we want regardless of the side of the aisle we sit.
Meanwhile, some of Jerry's fellow NFL owners, notably Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and New York Giants owner John Mara, have publicly defied our golfing leader and supported players who want the right to silently and peacefully protest racial inequity.
The NFL has ordered Jerry to stop talking about the national anthem; veteran DFW sports anchor Mike Doocy canceled his 1-on-1 interview with Jerry once he was told he could not ask the question.
Quarterback Dak Prescott and his friends have been put in a terrible position. Anything less than taking a knee in support of other African American players who want to bring light to social injustices to their fellow brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers and they look like sellouts.
Other than rape and the holocaust, no comparison is any more erroneous and offensive than comparing something to slavery. There is one action akin to slavery: slavery.
Dak is making a personal business decision when he said he will stand at attention with the rest of his Cowboys teammates, and no one should blame him for it. He's not dumb; he sees what has happened to former 49ers teammates Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid, neither of whom can get an NFL job because of their positions on protesting.
Taking the social reins is not in everybody, nor should they be asked to take a stance just because they are in a highly visible position. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and O.J. Simpson made careers out of avoiding societal issues.
Nonetheless, guys like Dak should not condemn those who remain steadfast in their convictions to shed light to a problem that they themselves likely experienced, or know someone who has, or does.
Although it sure does cost a lot, America is a free country. At least in theory.
Our current President is double-talking rhetorical mess, yet he does recognize a button that works and will galvanize supporters on an issue that, in the end, affects nothing.
Has the act of an NFL player for two minutes taking a knee changed your day? Your week? Your month? Your life?
You know the answer.
Jerry knows how something looks and sounds is often more important than how something is.
So does the President, who, either intentionally or unintentionally, put the owner of the Dallas Cowboys in his place.
