Jerry Jones found himself in an awkward spotlight during Monday Night Football, with the Cowboys owner shown in a suite alongside Stephen A. Smith as Dallas tried to survive another rough stretch in a season that has already slipped into must-win mode.
The timing made the moment stand out even more. The Cowboys entered Week 7 at 2-4 and have been battered by one poor defensive performance after another. Monday offered a chance to take advantage of an injured Philadelphia Eagles team, with Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith both out, but Dallas was still trying to steady itself while its critics kept circling.
Smith is hardly a neutral observer when it comes to the Cowboys. The ESPN personality has built a reputation for going on air and openly mocking Dallas after losses, and his presence next to Jones during the broadcast drew immediate attention. ESPN even showed Smith in Jones’ suite again after Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb connected for a Cowboys touchdown.
Jones is free to spend time with whoever he wants, but the optics were hard to miss for a fan base already frustrated by the state of the team. The owner has repeatedly said he wants nothing more than to win a championship and has also insisted that Cowboys fans deserve one, yet the sight of him sharing space with one of the franchise’s loudest detractors was always going to raise eyebrows.
Smith’s critics extend well beyond Dallas, too. The Eagles could certainly have their own reasons to bristle after Smith made light of Lane Johnson’s sudden retirement. That drew a sharp response from Terrell Owens, a former wide receiver for both the Cowboys and Eagles, who called for Smith to be suspended over the comments.
“I don’t understand how there are no consequences for Stephen A.’s actions, especially with ESPN and Disney being the corporations they are, for him to speak so insensitively about a topic like mental health the way he did,” Owens said on the Get to The Point Podcast. “Why isn’t he suspended?
For him to speak so recklessly to a guy and then try to backtrack and say he’s had mental health issues. If you knew that, then you’re smart enough not to speak on something affecting millions of people, millions of people, and something that’s a very sensitive topic."
Smith has never been far from controversy, and seeing Jones beside him during a Cowboys game only added another strange layer to a season already full of them.
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