FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas owner Jerry Jones says his obscene gesture toward fans at MetLife Stadium late in a 37-22 victory over the New York Jets was inadvertent and that he intended a “thumbs up” for celebrating Cowboys fans.
Jones was caught on a video that went viral smiling widely as he pointed toward fans before briefly flashing the gesture Sunday. He said on his radio show Tuesday he was interacting with Dallas fans, not Jets fans.
“That was unfortunate. That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out in front — not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with enthusiasm of Cowboys and certainly late in the game.”
The league didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“(The gesture) was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it,” Jones said. “There wasn’t any antagonistic issue or anything like that. I just put up the wrong show on the hand. That was inadvertently done. I’m not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental. But it got straightened around pretty quick. I had a chance to look at it. It got straightened out pretty quick, but the intention was ‘thumbs up,’ and basically pointing at our fans because everybody was jumping up and down excited.”
Late in the 2024 season, the NFL fined Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper for throwing a drink at fans in Jacksonville.
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