Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones has refused to respond to questions about why he didn’t remove his hat during the playing of the national anthem earlier this month.
The NFL owner’s critics widely circulated a video showing Jones standing for the anthem at the opening of training camp in Oxnard, California. But critics pointed out that he never removed his baseball cap out of respect for the nation’s song, Pro Football Talk reported.
One critic in particular, Dallas radio host Dale Hansen, slammed Jones as a hypocrite for violating the United States Flag Code. The practice suggests the removal of all hats during the raising of the flag, though the code is only a set of traditions and does not carry the force of law.
On Sunday, the Dallas Morning News asked Jones if he had any comment on the video but the NFL owner brushed off the incident with no comment.
Jones still insists that his team will stand “toes on the line” for the anthem and that it will be a requirement, not a request.
But one reason Jones may have decided not to address the criticism over his hat is that the league has told him not to comment about the anthem issue while the NFL and the players continue to discuss a fixed policy on anthem protests.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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