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The Dallas Cowboys have been so uneventful over the past few years that even Denzel Washington is calling out owner Jerry Jones.
Washington was promoting Highest 2 Lowest, the latest Spike Lee joint, on First Take Tuesday morning, and went off about the Cowboys, a team Stephen A. Smith relishes in hating.
The New York native starts with love, recalling how he became interested in the team as a kid because they shared a similar style of play with his high school team.
“I’ve been a Cowboys fan since the ’60s, he’s making it hard for me,” he begins. “Not to be a fan, because I’ll still have a star on the side of my hat. But he’s not thinking about us, he’s thinking about his pockets.”
Spike Lee eggs him on with a laugh, saying, “Get Jerry Jones on the phone.”
Professional sports teams are unlike any other establishment when it comes to determining their success. Usually, it’s about money, and since the Cowboys hold the title of the most valuable sports franchise in the world, with a $9 billion valuation, they’ve already got that on lock.
But when it comes to winning, no one takes them seriously since they haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1997, which was also the last time they advanced to the NFC championship game. They’ve also only won four playoff games in the last 25 years, with losses including 2023’s Wild Card round, 2022’s Divisional Round, and 2021’s Wild Card round.
Stephen A. Smith has spoken with Jones about the team’s on-field success, and Jones just touts the “recognition, notoriety, and dollars” the team makes.
Washington draws a comparison between sports and his world of acting, calling out Jerry Jones.
“There’s box office, and then there’s Oscars, Jerry. Been a while, huh? You ain’t been to the show, you wouldn’t know,” Washington says while looking dead into the camera. “You haven’t been to the show, so you don’t know what it is to win.”
Even the usually talkative Stephen A. Smith admits to being speechless, as Washington says that there’s no beef, and his passion comes from being a fan for so long.
Washington jumping into the never-ending Cowboys debate is only the latest surprising addition, as last week Nicki Minaj unknowingly got involved when Dez Bryant was name-dropped.
See how social media is reacting to Washington’s appearance on the sports debate show below.