Since the NFL’s regular season officially began, numerous players have been taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest issues that they believe the minority community is facing, such as systemic oppression and police brutality. Unsurprisingly, participating in a protest at such a time has left a massive amount of people outraged. Included was Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who subsequently spoke out against the kneeling and warned that if anyone on his team does anything to disrespect the American flag or National Anthem, then they won’t play.

Following his threat, numerous supporters of the anthem protests attacked Jones. Some even went so far as to compare him to a slave owner. The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, however, has been largely unfazed by the criticism. During a recent interview, Jones pointed out that there’s “no question” that the NFL is suffering as a consequence of the protests. He also pushed back against those bashing him for not allowing his players to cost him and his team money and attract negative publicity. He then doubled down on his position and expounded on his reason for doing so.

Specifically, while speaking to reporters earlier this week about those claiming that he’s “like a plantation owner,” which is something one protester actually shouted to his face while he was on his way to the NFL fall owners meetings in New York City last week, Jones stated, “they don’t know me and I didn’t know them. I am well aware they don’t know me. To the extent that they were frustrated with me, they are wrong. Just wrong.”

To clarify, Jones mentioned that while he’s also concerned about the many issues that people are protesting about, the kneeling is actually doing more harm than good. “I care about a lot of things. But our ability to be substantive is based on having a strong NFL, a league that people are really interested in and want to watch games,” he explained.

“At all times, if I am anything, I am first and foremost a proponent of making the NFL strong. Making us have as many people watching the game as we can and watching in light of what we are doing and that’s playing football,” added Jones.

“I want to do the right thing by them and their customers. I have a great responsibility to the people who support us,” he continued, noting, “we all get great benefits from having a lot of people watch our games. All of us do.”

By saying this, Jones is trying to point out that the NFL’s strength is the what makes it possible for the players to help address the problems that they want to combat. If it becomes weakened, then the player’s ability to affect change will also be diminished.

“If all this makes you stronger to represent messages, [then] let’s don’t [send those messages] in a way that tears down the strength of the NFL,” argued Jones before pointing out that the NFL’s strength is currently being torn down by the players choosing to kneel during the National Anthem. “There is no question the league is suffering negative effects from these protests,” he stated.

Later in the interview, Jones was asked about his thoughts on the NFL fall owners meeting. Specifically, he was asked about how he felt about the fact that they decided not to adopt a new rule requiring all players stand during the National Anthem. “Our position was represented there,” he replied, suggesting that he did all he could.

“We had a good meeting as to what we could do generally as a game, as a league to basically help point out some of the issues that aren’t just the players that are all our issues. And do it in such a way that doesn’t hurt the NFL,” added Jones.

“So I thought we had a good discussion about that,” he continued, noting, “there will be ongoing discussions about how to address the real issues. Some of the issues that have happened around the flag have taken the message away from what we all want to see done better.”

Hopefully, more NFL executives join Jones and publicly come out against protesting during the National Anthem. To ensure that this happens, conservatives should continue speaking out against those who decide to take a knee. With enough pressure, the players protesting during the anthem will be forced to stop or risk being fired.