FRISCO, Texas – Mike McCarthy sat in his black leather chair, put his elbows on a wooden table and began his call to the convention at 7:15 a.m. Thursday morning from the Cowboys headquarters at the Star.
“I have to be honest,” the Dallas freshman coach began. “It’s hard to think I sit here and get on football this morning.”
McCarthy has stated that games and practices were cancelled in the sports leagues. The hurricane threatens the families of some players in Texas and Louisiana. The global pandemic. And the most recent video released of a black guy’s shooting through a white police officer. Jacob Blake shot seven times in the back through an officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, about 150 miles south of McCarthy’s 13-year prevention in Green Bay.
McCarthy, who spent more than two nights soaking up the news and calling his friends and the circle of relatives in Wisconsin, called the shooting “disturbing.”
“Obviously, tough times when things have to change,” McCarthy said. ‘The term I’m suffering from right now is that we all think the game is a wonderful’escape’to the difficult times of our society. It’s meant to be entertainment. But you can’t escape what’s going on right now. Lately we have primary and primary demand situations in our society that we want to address.
“I don’t have the answers, but things have to change.”
Nine NFL groups canceled the practice Thursday (Detroit canceled Tuesday’s practice) to show solidarity, talk about how they can use their platforms, and mobilize to the lobby to replace policies on racism and police brutality. On Wednesday, the Cowboys component participated in a past scheduled voter education consultation and convened their players’ council. But they did not recognize the occasions of the week as a component of a full team before their training. Players headed to the box with their helmets in hand just before the start of the consultation at 8 a.m. Team training lasted longer than the scheduled conclusion at 10 a.m.
“We’ve got to do our part as far as the community and everything like that,” left tackle Tyron Smith said. “It’s a confusing time. But at the same time, we also got to focus on work and do the best thing for our families.”
A top student who asked questions halfway through Earl Thomas’ release through the Baltimore Ravens stuck two interceptions through Dak Prescott. An offensive shot suffered an obvious right knee injury, helped McCarthy get up and then took off at 8:19 a.m. Rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb stocked a prescott throw a few inches from the ground. But the Cowboys didn’t leave the Ford Center box after McCarthy’s last practice speech.
Instead, half Joe Looney turned to an organization of kneeling and standing teammates. He cared about the importance of unity, the difference between intelligent and evil, and the desire to love and care for others, Vander Esch said. The players prayed. The talks continued in offices, function rooms, changing rooms. At the Cowboys’ afternoon team assembly, players wondered how to help their community more, no plans to cancel education, Smith said. Security personnel Darian Thompson praised McCarthy for “not taking those conditions lightly” and obviously expressed a preference for paying attention and learning.
Black parents like Smith, whose son Jaxson is 8, and Thompson, whose children are 2 and 4, know they will have to have complicated arguments.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, incredibly frustrating,” Thompson said. “Sometimes you don’t know when you’re safe. It’s anything we’re dealing with in life and we’ll have to keep doing it if we don’t make a change.
“I hope that when I teach and show (my children), the world will be a better place.”
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The Cowboys team assembly came two days after owner Jerry Jones recently addressed the kneeling players to protest the national anthem. Jones was asked about his appearance on the radio Tuesday if he was looking to place a non-unusual floor among players’ preference to kneel the anthem to protest police brutality and injustice, and Jones’s previous position that players will have to stand with their feet on the line. for the anthem. He said his goal was to help players while making sure his team “recognizes what (the anthem) symbolizes for America.”
“We had some very, very delicate moments,” Jones said earlier in August. “I have nothing to do in terms of my position with the flag and the position of the Cowboys. I have nothing to take out of my players and me for the players. What I need us to prove and be a component of is a word called “grace”. Not only grace in our actions, but also grace in our perception of where they come from. I need our players to perceive the belief of where they come in terms of flag, sensitivity and there are many memories, I need our enthusiasts to perceive … where our players come from.
“Those who need to do this, kneel, do not feel that they are dishonoring the flag.”
The Cowboys continue to wonder if they will kneel, and some players say they need the team to be united in any move. Dontari Poe’s defensive takeover plans to kneel. He and Jones said they were planning to talk about this intention.
On Thursday, Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones expressed “sincere prayers” for the Blake family, acknowledging that “we actually want to raise awareness of what’s happening” in the sports world. But he refused to agree with the position of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that the league had previously heard former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“I’m not going to comment on that right now,” Stephen Jones said when asked about Dallas’ 105.3 radio station The Fan. “Obviously, each and every one, I have respect for what each and every one has to say about one of those situations. Everyone has their own way of locating themselves. This is an obviously wonderful challenge. As I said, each and every organization, each and every position, each and every position looks at it a little differently, whether you’re the NFL or an individual lion cub, each and every one has their own attitude about other things.
“Then respect everyone’s comments and opinions, but probably as long as you agree with that.”
Follow Jori Epstein of USA TODAY Sports on Twitter @JoriEpstein.