Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones declined to answer questions about the national anthem issue, saying the NFL has requested that he no longer speak on the subject.
Reporter Mike Doocy of Fox 4 said he decided to cancel his interview with Jones at the Dallas Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, when he learned moments before his interview would commence that questions about the anthem were off limits.
According to the Star-Telegraph, Jones informed several other news outlets that he would not be answering questions about the anthem and that it was the NFL’s position for him to stop speaking on the matter.
“The NFL and NFLPA, through recent discussions, have been working on a resolution to the anthem issue. In order to allow this constructive dialogue to continue, we have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA’s grievance and on the NFL’s anthem policy. No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while these confidential discussions are ongoing,” the NFL and the NFLPA said in a joint statement. “The NFL and NFLPA reflect the great values of America, which are repeatedly demonstrated by the many players doing extraordinary work in communities across our country to promote equality, fairness and justice. Our shared focus will remain on finding a solution to the anthem issue through mutual, good faith commitments, outside of litigation.”
A representative for the Dallas Cowboys did not immediately respond the TheWrap’s request for comment.
“We were told by Jerry and his public relations staff that the national anthem issue would be off limits,” Fox 4’s Doocy said. “And the fact we were told that at the last minute, that conditions were put on the interview in that way, I didn’t feel comfortable going on with it.”
Doocy added at the end of his segment, “In fairness to Jerry, his stance now is that the NFL doesn’t want him to talk about the anthem either. It just would’ve been nice to know that one minute prior before the interview was set to record.”
Last week speaking from the opening of training camp, Jones reiterated his position that Dallas Cowboys players would be required to stand on the field during the national anthem, but he referred to President Trump’s continued interest in the subject as “problematic.”
“Unprecedented, if you really think about it … but like the very game itself, that’s the way it is. We feel very strongly about how we deal with it. Of course, I’d like, everybody would like, it to go away,” said Jones.
In May, the NFL banned kneeling during the national anthem, but said they will allow players to remain in the locker room in protest during the singing of the anthem.
Watch the Fox 4 segment explaining the rationale for cancelling the Jones interview below: