On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that it had located Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in a photo of a white mob intent on preventing Black students from integrating North Little Rock High School in 1957.
Beforehand, Jones had only spoken about his presence at the incident as part of historical documentation, but this was the first time it appeared that he was an active participant.
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Jones told the Wahington Post that he was not there to prevent Black students from entering the school and was instead merely there out of curiosity.
“I don’t know that I or anybody anticipated or had a background of knowing … what was involved. It was more a curious thing,” Jones said, though the WaPo report’s timeline of events based on where he was at various moments seems to contradict his story.
Naturally, a lot of people have been weighing in on the phone and among them was former ESPN host Jemele Hill.
“Guessing Jerry Jones isn’t the only NFL owner who has something like this in his past. The wild part is the expectation that Black people are just supposed to naively trust that white people who were once eager participants in the dark parts of history magically have evolved,” Hill wrote.
Guessing Jerry Jones isn’t the only NFL owner who has something like this in his past. The wild part is the expectation that Black people are just supposed to naively trust that white people who were once eager participants in the dark parts of history magically have evolved. https://t.co/e3Gbb3xhTn
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 23, 2022
As the Washington Post story notes, Jones has never hired a Black head coach in his 33 years as owner of the Cowboys. He has also been criticized over the years for his various stance on social issues. While he initially knelt with players during the national anthem to protest social justice, he later changed his mind, applauding players who didn’t kneel and saying those who did “disrespected the flag.” Jones also apologized in 2017 for a racially insensitive remark he had made in 2013.
