Report: Former Dallas Cowboys Star Takes Shot At Jerry Jones, ‘Zoo’ Like Team Culture

Per a transcription of Schultz’s comments by Michael David Smith with NBC Sports, the Cowboys’ former fourth-round pick said there were a lot of distractions surrounding his teammates in Dallas. Much of it was by Jerry Jones’ design:

“The focus is just football,” Schultz said of playing in Houston. “Going back and telling some people about being around the Cowboys’ practice facility and game day, describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis, it surprises a lot of people. They’re like ‘Holy crap, that actually happens at a practice facility?’ You think it’s normal, and then you come to a place like this…

“There’s people literally going on tours while you’re lifting in the weight room. They’ve got a one-way mirror for people to look in. It’s literally a zoo,” Schultz said of Dallas. “There’s people tapping on the glass, trying to get people’s attention while they’re doing power cleans or whatever. It’s different.

That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way they run things, and there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just you don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract from stuff in the locker room being in the facility, until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, there’s none of that.’”

Schultz’s comments echo what other previous and current Cowboys players have said about the team. Star pass rusher Micah Parsons recently said he wants the Cowboys to change their culture.

Dak Prescott feels attacked by questions about the culture

Jones and quarterback Dak Prescott have pushed back on that. As previously discussed on GH, Prescott says he feels attacked when people talk about issues with the Cowboys’ culture:

“Yeah, the culture is high honestly, and the culture is great from my standpoint,” Prescott said. …. “My point is that’s something I’ve bragged on and took pride in. So if there’s questions of that or concerns on that, I feel attacked.

I’m sure some guys in the locker room do, but at the end of the day, it’s a business, and the way that this business plays out, people don’t get exactly what they want. There’s always sourness I guess you could say somewhere. I don’t want to make anything bigger than that.”

Will the Cowboys listen to former players’ grievances?

Schultz’s perspective seems to be yet another attack on the Cowboys’ business practices. But does management and its appendage, Prescott, care enough to address what former players say is an issue?