Dak Prescott, Cowboys hope to create social justice program others can copy
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott never worried about what was said about him during training camp when people mistook his belief in standing for the national anthem as criticism of the social justice protests against police brutality and racism.
He was mocked with a “Get Out” mural in Dallas for not going against
owner Jerry Jones’ demand that all his players stand during the national anthem.
Prescott said at the time that he wanted to get involved but just in a different way,
Now, his social justice plans are finally coming to fruition as part of a group of Cowboys players who are formulating a program “to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community” that they hope will one day be a model other players and teams can emulate.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott, linebacker Sean Lee, defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford, cornerback Bryon Jones and defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence are also involved. And they have the backing of the Cowboys through vice president Charlotte Jones Anderson.
Crawford and Byron Jones got things started spending the day with the Grand Prairie police department on Tuesday. It included a ride along, a visit with kids in the park and some face-to-face conversation with the police.
But it’s only the beginning of something bigger.
“There are some things we have planned,” Prescott said. “Things we are working on as a team, started by the players with the organization helping us. It’s going to be good. It’s more about hands-on and doing something. It is not a publicity stunt to get coverage. It is going to make an impact at the end of the day and let other people know and hopefully, other teams and players can have something to model after.”
Prescott had a ride along scheduled but it got canceled because of a conflict. He plans on doing one himself in the near future.
And he said the Cowboys are planning on working with police departments throughout the area and “do something that needs to be done.”
He said the feedback from the various police departments has been great so far.
It’s all excitement,” Prescott said. “It’s a gap. Everybody knows it’s a gap between law enforcement and the community in general. It’s great. They don’t want that gap there either. They want to feel safe when they pull somebody over and vice versa. They don’t want to be the bad guy ever. It’s all positive coming from them. They asking ‘help, help, help.’ It’s all great.”
