Dez Bryant calls out Jerry Jones' silence amid protests
Former Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant appeared to call out owner Jerry Jones and tight end Jason Witten for their lack of involvement in the protests that are taking place around the country in response to the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
Sunday, thousands protested in Austin, Texas, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Bryant pointed out the absence of Jones and Witten, implying that they should have been there.
"Somebody should have brought Jerry jones Stephen jones and Jason witten to this protest down in Austin......this is not a policy change this is a heart change and yea I said it," Bryant tweeted.
Another Twitter user responded asking Bryant if he felt he was "an expert at reading people’s hearts now," to which Bryant replied, "I'm just going based off my personal experiences..."
Someone pointed out the importance of policy change, to which Bryant agreed but said it would still be good for Jones and Witten to get a firsthand look at the current movement.
"You are correct... I don’t feel like I’m calling them out but I feel they will get a different understanding of what unity really look like," Bryant tweeted.
Jones has been among the most outspoken in the NFL against players kneeling during the national anthem. Last week, the Cowboys posted a video in response to Floyd's death that featured Dak Prescott, Sean Lee, Tyrone Crawford and Byron Jones. But Jones was not present in the video.
"I do think this recent effort by the league office and the players association to have discussions ... is a worthy effort," Jones said in 2018. "And that's what you're seeing happen right now. But in general, I will speak for one, and everybody knows where we stand, and we stand as a team.
"Our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toe on the line."
Witten, who is currently signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, responded to Bryant on Twitter, saying he tried calling him before stating his position that "it's time for a change" and "we must all listen."
More must-reads: