The NFL decided to impose a severe and significant fine on Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, for a controversial gesture he made during the Week 5 game against the New York Jets, in which America’s Team won 37-22 to reach a 2-2-1 record.
The NFL has shown no leniency toward violent actions and unsportsmanlike conduct. Each week, the league publishes fines issued to players for those reasons, but this time a special protocol was activated to punish Jones for an unusual situation.
The incident unfolded after Dak Prescott’s fourth touchdown pass extended the lead to 37-14, highlighting the Cowboys’ dominance over the Jets, who are in a difficult stretch with an 0-5 record. Any gesture at that moment only added more tension to the atmosphere.
The NFL’s fine on Jones
Jones was fined $250,000 for raising his middle finger toward Jets fans at MetLife Stadium. However, it’s not all bad news for Jones, as he could appeal the league’s sanction. The situation could develop further, even though the video shows that the gesture was highly unlikely to be misunderstood.
The excuse behind Jones’ gesture
“That was unfortunate. There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out front. It was right after we made our last touchdown. I put up the wrong show of hand. The intention was thumbs up, and basically pointing at our fans because everybody was jumping up and down excited,” explained owner Jones in 105.3 The Fan about his controversial gesture, for which he received a very large fine.
“The gesture was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it. 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,” Jones reiterated.