Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the obscene gesture he made toward fans at MetLife Stadium in a viral video during his team’s 37-22 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday was inadvertent. However, Jones is still being disciplined by the NFL.
Jones will receive a $250,000 fine from the NFL for appearing to flash his middle finger at fans, ESPN reported Tuesday.
Earlier on Tuesday, Jones apologized for his gesture, saying that he was trying to give a “thumbs up” to celebrating Cowboys fans. In the video, Jones smiled widely as he pointed toward fans before making the gesture.
“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 gesture] was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it,” Jones added. “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.”
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The incident involving Jones isn’t the first time in recent memory that an owner has been punished by the NFL for an interaction with fans. In 2023, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was fined for throwing a drink at Jacksonville Jaguars fans.
Jones’ punishment is in line with what former Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams got for making a similar gesture toward Buffalo Bills games during a game in 2009. Adams was fined $250,000 for gesturing his middle finger at Bills fans.
Late in the 2024 season, the NFL fined Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper for throwing a drink at fans in Jacksonville.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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