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Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones Refuses to Apologize After ‘1957 Segregation Photograph’ Puts Him in an Uncomfortable but Not Unfamiliar Position

Published 11/25/2022, 2:30 PM EST

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The Dallas Cowboys look set to feature in the playoffs this year with the flying season they are having. The Cowboys overcame their bitter rivals, NY Giants on TNF. However, their controversial owner Jerry Jones is in the news again, and not for something positive.

The 80-year-old billionaire owner and GM has made headlines, good and bad, ever since he became associated with the Cowboys organization in the late 1980s. However, this time it’s something Jerry Jones did as a 15-year-old. And Jerry’s actions from sixty-five years ago may be indicative of a far greater practice of organisational misconduct and injustice.

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In the picture that is now circulating the internet after the report from Washington Post, Jerry Jones was present in of a group practicing desegregation in his high school. Jones has answered questions regarding the disturbing picture where he refused to apologise and said, “it was more a curious thing.

Jerry Jones Lands Another Zinger on Dallas Cowboys Haters After Big Win Against Season Favorites Minnesota Vikings

The picture and the subsequent news have created major speculation among media and fans. Many think the Dallas Cowboys having no non-white head coaches in its franchise history is Jerry Jones doing. With OBJ’s intended arrival, the desegregation issue might be a huge deterrent to the wide receiver’s Cowboys dreams.

Jerry Jones was in the epicentre of the entire fiasco in 1957

It was September 9, 1957, when six black students were denied entry to North Little Rock High School in Arkansas in an attempt to desegregate the school. A vast crowd of white students had gathered on the landing near the school’s main entrance. And the future owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, was right there in the middle of that troublesome crowd, peeking his head with curiosity.

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Jerry Jones was a month from turning 15 when this incident took place. The teenager had been working out and trying to get on the school’s backup football team. However, Jones decided to be present at the rally that day despite specific orders from his high school football coach, Jim Albright, to not go there. Some think that’s a sign of more than just curiosity.

Jerry Jones’s curiosity was the only motivating factor behind his presence and the billionaire said that he wanted to see what was happening and did not participate in any manner. “I don’t know that I or anybody anticipated or had a background of knowing… what was involved,” Jones said.

Jerry Jones took over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 and won 3 Super Bowls in the next 7 years. But the next 26 years have seen no silverware for the franchise. Some think that maybe it’s Jones’ rigidity that’s stopping the Cowboys. However, Jones denied these allegations and said that hiring is more related to networking and forming relationships. “It’s not the X’s and O’s, not the Jimmys and Joes. It’s who you know,” Jerry said.

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WATCH STORY: Jerry Jones announces a date with Odell Beckham Jr

Dak Prescott leads Jerry’s 8-3 Cowboys against the 4-6-1 Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

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Written by:

Soumyapriyo Ganguly

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Rivu Ganguly is an NFL writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a degree in Economics and Statistics from the Indian School of Business and Finance. Rivu is a sports nerd with his favourites being Soccer, American Football, Basketball, UFC and Formula 1.
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Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam