Why Jerry Jones could be fined for ‘blind referee’ Halloween costume originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Jerry Jones could pay the price for his Halloween costume this year.
The Dallas Cowboys owner went viral for dressing up as a “blind referee” over the weekend. A photo of the outfit, complete with sunglasses and a walking stick, was posted on his niece’s Instagram.
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“Oh yeah, I had the cane and everything,” Jones told Sports Illustrated on Sunday. “And I used it on some people, too.”
While Jones and other people on social media may have found it amusing, the NFL might not find it so funny.
The league sent a memo to coaches, general managers, team presidents and chiefs executive in October 2019 stating that it prohibits the following types of criticism towards officials (via ProFootballTalk):
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“Comments regarding the quality of officiating, individual calls or missed calls, the League’s officiating department, an officiating crew, or an individual game official; [a]ccusing game officials of acting with bias or in any way questioning the integrity of NFL game officials; or [p]osting negative or derogatory/demeaning content pertaining to officiating on social media.”
Jones’ costume could certainly fall under the last criteria there. The NFL doesn’t have a strong history of taking a “lighten up” approach – see the unsportsmanlike conduct call on D.J. Moore at the end of Sunday’s Panthers-Falcons game – but Jones’ son hopes the league shows a sense of humor.
“They have a very difficult job in real time,” Stephen Jones told “The K&C Masterpiece” on Monday. “I do think they understand you can have some humor with this stuff, but I can’t imagine they don’t think there’s nothing but respect that comes out of the Cowboys organization in terms of how difficult their job is and what a good job they do, as well.”
The Joneses didn’t have much to complain about on Sunday, as their team rolled past the Chicago Bears by a final score of 49-29.
