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Michael Wilbon calls out ESPN over coverage of Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Michael Wilbon calls out ESPN over coverage of Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys remain one of the most popular franchises in sports despite their recent lack of success, but longtime analyst Michael Wilbon thinks it is time for ESPN to focus elsewhere.

During Monday's edition of "Pardon the Interruption," Wilbon was critical of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and ESPN's commitment to covering "America's Team." Wilbon, who has been with ESPN since 2001, first ranted about how indifferent he is to Jones' comments.

Wilbon said there is nothing that Jones says these days that captures his interest, and that the 82-year-old "likes to hear himself talk."

"It’s fine. He’s earned it. He’s a cranky old man, he can do whatever he wants," Wilbon said, via Drew Lerner of Awful Announcing. "But I’m not paying any attention. So I assign no meaning to it. It’s what he likes to do. He likes to be on stage. ... He’s a showman, and he wants all your attention all the time and I’m not going to give it to him. ... I don’t give a damn what Jerry Jones says.”

The criticism from Wilbon came in the wake of Jones addressing fans at Cowboys training camp over the weekend, where he did not exactly get a warm greeting.

Wilbon then directed his frustration at ESPN for giving Jones and the Cowboys so much airtime.

"The Cowboys, they're not in the big action late. They're not relevant in January. ... I don't care about the Cowboys, even though I know that most of the programming on this network is devoted to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys," Wilbon added.

Wilbon can get away with more than most at ESPN, which is one of the perks of being with a company for well over two decades. This is certainly not the first time he has called them out over coverage of a particular player or team.

The Cowboys have not made it past the divisional round of the playoffs since 1995, which is when they won their last Super Bowl. Wilbon believes they need to play better to earn more attention, even if fans continue to demand it.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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