Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was blasted earlier this week after saying that any of the team's players who "disrespect the flag" by kneeling during the national anthem won't be allowed to play, as reported by San Antonio Express-News. Many people felt like it was just a sign of the billionaire owner caving into the pressure applied by President Trump and that Jones kneeling with his players before the anthem late last month was merely a publicity stunt.

Well, according to The Intercept columnist Shaun King, Jones' order to Cowboys players to stand during the anthem runs even deeper than we realize.

In a tweet yesterday afternoon, King says he spoke to multiple Cowboys players and that "none of them are going to test Jerry Jones," with "every member of the team" ready to stand during the anthem before their next game on October 22, when they visit the San Francisco 49ers.

King added via another tweet: "Players told me Jerry is even dictating how they hold their hands, their helmet, etc. during the anthem. Even where they should be looking."

Wow. 

If these reported tweets are true, it's bad enough that Jones is mandating that Cowboys' players stand during the anthem, ignoring their First Amendment right to protest, but him ordering how they hold hands and their helmets and where they should be looking during the song is downright degrading.

And from the sound of ESPN's Josina Anderson's tweets, which were sent out before King's, the Cowboys locker room might be in a state of disarray over Jones' rules now in comparison to when he knelt with them just a couple of weeks ago.

After their bye this week, it will be interesting to see if every member of the Cowboys stands during the anthem and what will happen to those who don't.

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