Jerry Jones, Cowboys Owner, Fined for Obscene Gesture
FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has been fined $250,000 by the NFL for an “inadvertent” obscene gesture towards fans at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. The Cowboys will likely appeal, but they have until Friday to make a final decision. Videos on social media showed Jones quickly flashing his middle finger at the end of the Cowboys’ 37-22 victory over the New York Jets, after Dak Prescott’s fourth touchdown pass increased the lead to 37-14.Jones commented that the gesture was “unfortunate”. “There was a multitude of Cowboys fanatics at the front, not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The whole stadium was overflowing with Cowboys enthusiasm, and certainly at the end of the game. “[The gesture] was unnoticed by me because it was right after we scored our last touchdown, and we were all excited about that. There was no antagonistic problem or anything like that. I just showed the wrong hand signal. That was done inadvertently. I’m not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental. But it was corrected pretty quickly. I had the opportunity to see it. It was corrected pretty quickly, but the intention was ‘thumbs up’, and basically point to our fans because everyone was jumping and excited.” This is not the first time the NFL has fined an owner for a bad interaction with fans. Last year, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was fined $300,000 for “unacceptable conduct” after he was caught on video throwing a drink in the direction of Jacksonville Jaguars fans. In 2009, then-Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for conduct detrimental to the league after making an obscene gesture while celebrating a victory against the Buffalo Bills.That was unfortunate. It was a kind of exchange with our fans in front of us.
Jerry Jones
