The Dallas Cowboys should replace the star on its helmet with a giant elephant.
The Dallas Cowboys not only serve as America's Team, but that of the Republican Party, too.
When it comes to politics, Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Jones famously sticks to the five rules of dodge ball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge.
As Jerry has said, "This is the time that we are in." Jerry, you're in it, young man. Have fun.
As America burns, Jerry and the Dallas Cowboys have said, and done, everything in accordance of addressing the desires of their base, not their players.
While the NBA, MLB, NHL and NASCAR back their players who want to either protest, or skip games, to visibly support racial awareness as a means to call attention to the unfair treatment of Black Americans by members of the police, Jerry's line is firm.
No kneeling. No protests. No cancellations. No stops.
In doing so, there is no pretense of where the Cowboys genuine allegiances rest. Free country, and there is no shame in that. Just own it.
On Friday, he told 105.3 The Fan, "I want (the players) to be emboldened to be a part of change. The dramatic change isn't going to happen overnight, but I want our organization and our players to play a part in the movement of making this a better place in this country.
"I feel confident that our players have a can-do and what-can-I-do participation in it. I want the Cowboys to help make this a better place."
Jerry Jones is 77, and that answer should serve as a try out for Dancing with the Stars.
The Cowboys are straddling the fence between not alienating their mostly white Republican fans, who do not want to see protesting, and have announced they are offended by those who do.
But the Cowboys also want to accommodate their players. Players who are neither white, and probably don't ascribe to the stereotypical Republican ideologies.
Few people in his position are as pleasing and an inclusive as Jerry, but on this someone's feelings are going to get hurt.
Even when the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league blew it in how it handled the Colin Kaepernick situation, another Jones handled it like a glass of molten lava.
On Thursday during a radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Dallas Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones was asked about Goodell's comments that the league did not handle the Kaepernick situation correctly in 2016.
"I'm not going to comment on that at this point," Stephen Jones said. "I mean, obviously, everybody has respect for what everybody has to say about any of these situations. Everybody has their own way of getting their hands around it.
"It's obviously a big challenge. As I said, every organization, every office, every place looks at it a little different, including, whether you're the NFL or you're an individual club. Everybody has their views on different things. So, certainly have respect for everybody's opinions and views, but that's probably as far as I would go with that."
Translation: Can we please talk about my trip to the proctologist rather than this?
For Goodell to make these comments flies in the face of what Jerry would ever do.
Goodell, whose father, New York Senator Charles Goodell, famously walked with the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott, during an anti-Vietnam protest in 1969, is now a lame duck commissioner on his final contract.
Roger has more money than he can count; there would be a natural desire to honor his father's legacy by taking a stand on a societal issue.
Players are mad, and they want to do something. All of the leagues now are supporting their efforts, even if it has some adverse effect on TV ratings.
While other teams and leagues shut down for a day or two, the Dallas Cowboys "had conversations" but did not go so far as to stop football.
There is unity among the majority of pro athletes today to call attention to this situation.
Then there is America's team.
Only new Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Dontari Poe has expressed a public interest in wanting to participate in similar protest gestures by kneeling during the national anthem.
Kneeling during the national anthem has been on Jerrys' no-fly list since players started doing it in 2016.
The closest he crossed this line was in 2017, when he participated with his players in kneeling before the national anthem, but rose to his feet once it began. He was trying to appease both parties.
In one of the all-time great Jerry quotes, he told his players years ago they would stand and "Create the perception of honoring the flag."
They were told to fake it. He did not want to alienate "his base," nor does he want to do it now.
Jerry is candid in that talking politics is a game he cannot win, which is why he never does it. He's right.
But the players are tired of faking it, and he has no choice but to do something that he admits he's quite good at, making decisions.
On this issue the Cowboys made their decision, and indirectly told you where their allegiances reside.
No need for star on a helmet when an elephant is just as effective.
