New Cowboys DT Likely to Kneel During Anthem, Calls Out Jerry Jones

Getty Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Dontari Poe is ready to take a stand — by not standing.

Poe, who signed with the team this offseason, told Bleacher Report that he’s “definitely leaning toward” kneeling during the National Anthem in 2020 as a way to fight police brutality and social injustice.

“If you don’t understand it, then you just don’t want to know it,” he said.

Cowboys players, new and old, understand that taking a knee amid the Star-Spangled Banner is frowned upon, an act prohibited by Jerry Jones. Example: When Dallas acquired defensive end Michael Bennett last year, Jones implicitly warned him to get on board with “how we do it here.”

Bennett, now a free agent, stood for his nine games in the silver and blue.

Jones considers kneeling, popularized by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, disrespectful to the American flag. Save for his 2017 demonstration, in which Jones took a knee and interlocked arms with his players, he rarely gets involved with such initiatives.

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Jerry’s Silence Defeaning

Jones has yet to comment on the death of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who was killed in police custody in May, sparking nationwide protests and law-enforcement reform. The Cowboys’ owner/general manager also did not appear in a video the organization released last month, condemning racism.

“Haven’t talked to Jerry at all,” Poe told Bleacher Report. “I hope he comes out and shows his support. … You are an owner of an NFL team — you get what I’m saying? The majority of this team are these people that are being oppressed. So even if you are not going to be in the forefront, we need to know we have your support in that type of way.”

Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher reported on July 4 that Jones has consulted with Bank of America, a corporate sponsor of the NFL, “regarding a public course of action.” Jones is seeking guidance on a proper “social justice strategy,” presumably, before making a statement on the civil unrest gripping the country.

Poe Puts Jones on the Spot

Poe echoed fellow newcomer to the Dallas defensive line, Gerald McCoy, who opined last month that Jones needs to break his silence sooner than later.

“His silence definitely means a lot because in any other situation [he] will have something to say about most things,” Poe told Bleacher Report. “I was once a proponent of doing stuff behind closed doors, and doing what I need to do not out in the forefront. … So hopefully he is doing that, but who knows what he is doing. … Personally, I would hope that he comes out and says, ‘OK, I am willing to help, I am willing to fight, and I am willing to be with y’all.'”

Poe knelt during the Anthem in 2017 as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. He signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Cowboys in March, following a stint in Carolina, where he overlapped with McCoy.

Poe (6-3, 346) tentatively is penciled in as Dallas’ starting nose tackle.

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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL