Hallelujah! It’s finally football season in a few weeks. And we can thank the team that America either really loves or loves to hate (your choice), the Dallas Cowboys, for moving the sports media’s attention away from the NBA’s daily soap opera for a few days. And, as usual when you discuss the Dallas Cowboys, this story will feature America’s Team’s highly visible owner, Jerry Jones.
The Dallas Cowboys seem to excel in finding football players who either (a) had a questionable background/character issues before coming to the team or (b) will learn how to self-destruct once they play for America’s Team. As training camps get underway around the NFL, da Boyz have already taken the lead in the NFC East with the most players making headlines for less-than-exemplary behavior.
For the entire offseason, Cowboys’ star running back, Ezekiel Elliott, has been in the headlines as he awaits a decision on whether he will be charged with domestic violence stemming from an incident with his ex-girlfriend a year ago in July, 2016.
Then, in January, Dallas defensive end, Randy Gregory, was suspended for at least the upcoming 2017 football season after failing a mandated drug test. As you might have suspected, this wasn’t the first test of that type that he has flunked.
On Monday, another Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end, David Irving, was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of this season for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug (PED) policy. It seems that Irving took a supplement which, according to the player, was supposed to be all-natural but had a “secret ingredient” which he amazingly discovered made him feel like he was going through a second puberty!
But wait, there’s more!
For the past two seasons, the Cowboys have sparingly used a back-up wide receiver named Rodney Darnell “Lucky” Whitehead from Florida Atlantic University. Lucky wasn’t exactly a household name (even in Dallas ) as his 2016 production consisted of only three pass catches for a measly 16 yards.
On Monday, the team learned that Lucky Whitehead may have been facing misdemeanor petty larceny charges back in his home state of Virginia for an alleged shoplifting incident involving about $25 worth of goods from a convenience store (conveniently, I might add, located in the heart of the fan base for the Cowboys’ arch-rival Washington Redskins). Apparently, there was a warrant out for his arrest back in Virginia once Lucky missed a court date for the alleged incident.
The Dallas Cowboys’ media darling owner, Jerry Jones, has been preaching to his players (who, it seems, should get their hearing checked during training camp) that there is high bar set for character in Dallas (insert laugh track here). No sirree, you don’t mess with “Dirty Jerry” Jones!
All of a sudden, Lucky Whitehead found himself cut by the Dallas Cowboys.
But wait, there’s even more!
It was later learned that Lucky Whitehead was actually not involved in the shoplifting incident and was cleared by the Virginia authorities. Did the Cowboys bring him back to the team? Nope! Too late. The decision stands. Lucky won’t be wearing the Blue Lone Star this season. He’s gone.
To end this saga, there is some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Lucky Whitehead was just picked-up by the New York Jets. The bad news is that he is now playing for the Jets, who are likely to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this season.
It will be interesting to see if this year’s squad of the Dallas Cowboys will heed the words coming from their “I really mean it this time” owner, Dirty Jerry Jones, when he utters those famous four words, “Do you feel Lucky“?