MINNEAPOLIS - The Dallas Cowboys, as we write this, have yet to be informed as to what the NFL will decide in the form of punishment for Damontae Kazee’s recent DWI-related arrest.
So Kazee plays on, as he did here in Sunday's 20-16 win over the Vikings. And, for the first time, he addressed the incident with the media.
"I apologized to my family, my teammates, my coaches and to the owner, who gave me a job,'' he said after playing a top-of-the-rotation role in the 6-1 Cowboys' win. "I’m happy the Lord helped me get out, I didn’t hit nobody, I didn’t hurt myself. Just thankful I’m here now.''
It feels great. We have to keep going…on to the next game now.
Kazee said he does not yet know if the NFL will punish him for the incident.
"Whatever it is, is my punishment,'' he said, "I have to deal with it, own up to it.''
More than a week ago, Cowboys officials spoke on the matter.
“I have not heard from the NFL,'' owner Jerry Jones said via 105.3 The Fan. "That has a protocol. … I don’t know the particulars of the arrest, so we’ll wait and see how that goes.''
Our sense is that the Cowboys do indeed "know the particulars of the arrest,'' with coach Mike McCarthy recently acknowledging that he has visited with Kazee, the veteran starting safety in his first year in Dallas.
“I visited with Damontae today. It’s unfortunate,” McCarthy said last week. “We’re definitely aware of everything that went on. It’s a pending legal matter right now. I really can’t comment much further than that.”
Actually, the "pending legal matter'' is not the Cowboys' issue; that is between Kazee, his attorney, law enforcement and the courts, which will be in charge of how to handle the aftermath of Kazee's arrest in The Colony on the DUI charge.
No, Dallas' concern is that Kazee's fate is at the mercy of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who could suspend the player if found in violation of the league’s personal conduct policy. There is apparently precedent that includes punishments of one, two and three games.
Kazee was arrested at about 3 a.m. on October 19, the beginning of Dallas' bye week. An officer who'd pulled him over for an alleged traffic violation noted “physical signs” of impairment before Kazee admitted to consuming alcohol, according to the police report.
Signed to a one-year contract in March, Kazee entered Sunday having been in on 17 tackles, with three pass deflections, one interception and a forced fumble in six games. While Dallas has developed depth at the position, Kazee, 28, had participated in 90 percent of the defensive snaps until this game, in which he played a season-low 67 percent of the snaps.
Nevertheless, he seemingly remains in the plans of the Cowboys, who won their sixth straight game on Sunday even as QB Dak Prescott sat out.
"It feels great'' to win, Kazee said. "We have to keep going … on to the next game now.''
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