Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responded to a comment made by LeBron James in which the NBA veteran called out reporters for not asking him about a recently resurfaced photo that shows Jones at a 1957 desegregation demonstration at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas.
During the postgame press conference following the Lakers' 128-109 win against the Trail Blazers on Wednesday, James compared the situation of Jones' photo controversy to that of Brooklyn Nets' guard Kyrie Irving -- his former teammate -- when Irving got in trouble for sharing antisemitic content on social media.
A day after James' comment, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was asked about it. Prescott said everyone should "give grace to one another" and that what James said was for Jones to address. Jones got his chance on Friday when he was asked about it during a radio interview.
"First of all, you have to hear me say how much I think of LeBron," Jones told 105.3 The Fan. "I don't know of anybody that I respect more, I don't know of anybody that's taken every opportunity he's had and maximized it. Not only [has he been] a great ambassador for sport, he has taken sports, he has taken his venues, and used those platforms -- I want to be sure that you know where I'm coming from. It made buttons pop off my vest, so to speak, when he would talk about how much of a Cowboy fan he was."
James used to be a well known Cowboys fan but recently switched his allegiance to the Cleveland Browns because he did not approve of how the Cowboys handled players kneeling during the national anthem. However, Jones said he is still a big fan of the Lakers' star.
"He would've made a great tight end. That doesn't change. There's nothing about any of that that changes," Jones said.
"Certainly, he has influence, and just because of all of the above. His accomplishments, how he's utilized his sport and how he's utilized his platform. How we have done it. He has enhanced basketball, he's made a lot of people a lot of money. I hope I have too."
Jones has already addressed the photo, saying that he wasn't taking part in the demonstration but he went there out of curiosity -- although his football coach at the time had told him and his teammates to stay away. Jones also said he wishes he had done more to help Black students feel more accepted in Little Rock.
