Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones has been accused of a lot of things, but after his recent interview on "Costas Tonight" on NBC, he can easily be accused of poor judgment.
In the interview, Jones said he played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and joked that he has had 50 concussions. He then went on to joke that it was so many blows to the head that caused him to own the Cowboys instead of being President of the United States.
Now, I am sure that Jones thought he was hilarious but concussions are not a laughing matter right now in the NFL. Jones said in the interview that he was not making light of the situation, but by this time, he was just spinning his words. He said what he said.
This season alone, Jerome Harrison leveled Cleveland Browns' quarterback Colt McCoy, causing a concussion. The Browns did not run any tests and sent McCoy back out to play. Then, after the game, the Browns made excuses for it. San Diego Chargers' guard Kris Dielman suffered a concussion and remained in the game. He suffered a seizure on the flight home.
There are at least four lawsuits in Pennsylvania alone right now over concussions against the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell is so scared of this problem that he is suggesting ridiculous rule changes to protect players from further injuries. He has already tried to eliminate kickoffs and has been discussing eliminating the two-point stance in the future.
With the commissioner of the NFL working so hard to increase education over concussions, so many recent examples of injuries and all the lawsuits in place, Jerry Jones should have known better.
I feel Jones stuck his foot right in his mouth. I know he was trying to be funny but this was just the wrong thing to joke about right now. Just ask Cleveland Browns' fans what happens when a team doesn't take concussions seriously.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
