FRISCO, Texas -- There are a few things in life that you can't get out of, for the most part, when living in the United States of America: paying taxes and jury duty.
The latter activity is something Dallas Cowboys 2023 first-team All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey found out the hard way: he ended up on the jury for a domestic violence case in Tarrant Country for eight days from Oct. 22 to Oct. 30. Aubrey and the jury found defendant Daniel Rincones guilty on one of his two assault charges, which led to his indictment and sentencing of 65 years in prison, per The Fort Worth-Star Telegram.
It's natural to wonder the following, "How on Earth did a Cowboys All-Pro end up on jury duty in-season while living in the football-crazed state of Texas?" Aubrey explained everything in an interview with Dallas' public relations staff on Thursday.
"I pushed it back, and when I called to push it back a second time, they didn't allow it, and it slipped through the cracks until it was too late," Aubrey said. It was definitely an 'oh shit' moment. I have a DA [district attorney] sister-in-law, and she said, 'They will never pick you with your public figure status.' I disclosed that I had a sister-in-law who was in the DA's office in Dallas, and my brother's a lawyer. So, I was just kind of told I wouldn't be picked, so I just sat there, and I didn't really say much. I was definitely surprised when he [the judge] picked me."
The case Aubrey helped preside over wasn't an easy one to handle: Rincones wasn't found guilty of assault-strangulation, but he was found guilty on one of his assault counts. Since he was also found guilty of aggravated sexual assault in Feb. 2019, his sentence was longer as a repeat offender. The defendant's offenses were both committed on a member of his household, per court records.
"Eye-opening, long, frustrating, depressing, hearing the story," Aubrey said. "The story was the sad one. I don't really want to get into all the details of the story, but it was very depressing and dragged on longer than anybody expected it to, so glad it's over."
Aubrey wasn't able to hide his identity during the jury selection process and since he didn't speak up much during the process, he ended selected onto the jury panel.
"Yeah, the judge announced who I was during the selection process," Aubrey said. "They were calling people by name, but asking for any sort of conflicts, and I put my hand up, saying, 'I have conflicts,' but he told me he'd come back to me. He called me by name, said, 'Brandon we'll come back to you.'"
By the time the judge got back around to Aubrey, he was cut off, and since he didn't push to get out of the selection process, he was chosen.
"Before I could really say anything with my hand up, he just said, 'Oh, you won't have any conflicts. We don't meet over the weekend,' and he walked away," Aubrey said. "I could have been more assertive and at that point, everyone knows who I am there, and I don't want to sound like I think I'm better than anyone else or that I'm above the job, so [I] kind of sat there quietly and didn't say anything, which was probably a mistake. I figured at that point still, he's not going to pick me."
The trial began during Dallas' Week 7 bye, fortunately for Aubrey, and only affected his preparation for one game, the Cowboys 30-24 Week 8 loss on "Sunday Night Football" at the San Francisco 49ers. He made all three of his extra points and a 29-yard field goal, his only attempt of the game.
"It was nine to five in downtown Fort Worth in the court," Aubrey said. "Hop on the highway after and race down here [to The Star in Frisco]. It's about an hour and a half to get here [in rush hour]. So, it puts me here around 6:45, 7:00 [p.m.], and hustle to get ready. I wanted to go to the indoor [practice field], but we have a high school game [using it]."
When Aubrey was in the process of grinding to make the transition out of being a software development engineer at GM Financial in Dallas to being a professional kicker, his schedule looked a lot like it did in the lead up to Week 8 this past week.
"On the [outdoor] field fighting the sunset, it reminded me a lot of my schedule as a software engineer when I'd work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then go race down to this area, a local field not too far away, and try to fight the sunset as well. It's something I've done before."
Perhaps one of the many reasons why Aubrey is regarded as one of the NFL's best kickers today is because he honed his football kicking skills with compromised vision. The second-year kicker is in the process of putting together another Pro Bowl-caliber year in 2024 after he led the NFL with 36 made field goals in 2023. Aubrey has drilled 18 of his 20 field goal attempts this season, and his 18 makes are tied for the fourth-most in the league. His nine made field goals from at least 50 yards are the second-most in the NFL, and no one has made more field goals of 50 or more yards since Aubrey (19 made field goals from 50-plus yards since 2023) entered the NFL.
"It's tough to see when you when you're kicking in the dark. You can't really see where you're kicking, and for [holder and punter] Bryan [Anger] in particular, trying to catch the snaps, he had a hard time at first tracking the ball and hitting the spot," Aubrey said. "It makes my job harder, especially when I can't see what spot he's put the ball down on very well. So, it was a lot harder, but [I] really just wanted to get the leg moving and keep the body fresh for game day."
Cowboys special teams coordinator John "Bones" Fassel didn't mind the adjusted schedule required to work with his superstar pupil. The only thing he would have changed with how everything played out is that he had hoped Aubrey would've been in position to drain a clutch kick after the difficult work the special teams operation put in during the week because of the altered schedule.
"We got our work done Wednesday and Thursday," Fassel said on Monday. "Doing what we had to do and much respect for him knowing what he had to do. So the kicker missing the meetings and practice, we can get around that. He just needed to get a swing in, and he got it done. I just thought fate would have it that he would have a game-tie or game-winner, and we could point to the work that he did on his own as being a factor, but it didn't work out that way. I'm proud for him handling that week."
