Every day we are reading or hearing about another athlete in the spotlight who committed a crime, made a poor decision, or allowed himself to get caught in a place that embarrassed himself and his team. It would appear that there is little if any control over famous athletes. They have plenty of money and the MAJORITY of fans don't care how these athletes act away from the field, as long as they perform great on the field. Leadership in professional sports is greatly challenged to find answers for these issues.
Now, we have a leader rather than an athlete embarrassing himself, his team, and his league. Jerry Jones, the self created flamboyant high profile owner of the Dallas Cowboys, was secretly video taped making negative comments about Tim Tebow and former Cowboys coach now Dolphins GM Bill Parcells. Jones is in a public business and appears to be very drunk and his speech sounds slurred. The video has been all over the internet and ESPN has shown it several times on Sportscenter.
The NFL has had several players embarrass the NFL logo in recent years. The NFL has begin to deal severely with these players as they try to improve and protect the image of their product. Now, the NFL must at least make a statement condemning Jerry Jones for allowing himself to be videotaped in this condition. Does he have a right to get drunk? Sure. Does he have a right to make such comments about others? Sure. However, he is not only one of thirty two owners in the NFL, he is the most popular owner by his own efforts. This video embarrasses himself, his team, and the league.
The NFL when asked for comment issued a statement saying no comment. That is not good enough. No, the NFL shouldn't try to fine or suspend him but they should make a public statement indicating that the actions were embarrassing and unacceptable. The NFL should also make reference to, how can the NFL expect players to have good conduct when the owners don't have good conduct?
Jerry, next time stay at home and get wasted where no one will video tape you. If you go into public to drink, take a close friend or employee to protect you from such embarrassment. You are only a BILLIONAIRE, Jerry. I am sure you can afford to hire people to protect you from yourself.
I will close with two questions. First, if this had been one of Jerry's employees how would he have dealt with them? Second, for a person of this magnitude to appear to be this drunk in public, shouldn't someone consider the possibility that they might have an alcohol problem?
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