- LeBron James had been a passionate Dallas Cowboys fan his entire life, but says he no longer roots for the team because Cowboys owner Jerry Jones opposed allowing players to kneel during the national anthem.
- The NBA, by contrast, allowed kneeling and various other protests by players, with no repercussions.
- James said of the Cowboys: “A lot of people in their front office and a lot of people that ran the organization was like, ‘If you do that (kneeling) around here, then you will never play for this franchise again.’ And I just didn’t think that was appropriate.”
- Jones had a different view. “I know this, we cannot, in the NFL in any way, give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag,” Jones said at the time. “We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag. So we’re clear.”
