America's Team

Welcome to the team of second chances

The Dallas Cowboys decision to sign Greg Hardy amid a domestic violence dismissal charge has caused a massive public outcry from fans to the politicians. I simply ask why are we so surprised? Isn't this America's team?

Editorial by Rodney Fisher


"He's a drug addict"
"He's a terrible teammate"
"His off-the-field will get us in trouble"
"He killed a guy"

These are only a few of the phrases we have used in the last 26 years that Jerry Jones has owned and operated the Dallas Cowboys to describe a player.

Remember Charles Haley joining the Cowboys in the 90's and how the word was out that he was a borderline schizophrenic. Reports surfaced from his former teammates with the San Francisco 49ers about his wild nature in the locker room. The same type reports would later surface from the Cowboys locker room. Haley now has been medical diagnosed as bi-polar and the chance that Jones gave him turned the Cowboys into three-time Super Bowl champions and Haley into a hall-of-famer.

Should we go through a list the times that Michael Irvin found himself in trouble with the law? Yet, the chances that Jones gave him paid off with championships and a hall-of-fame career.

Remember Tank Johnson? The defensive tackle that the Cowboys signed as a free agent after the Chicago Bears cut him for serving time over assault rifles.

Remember Pacman Jones? The defensive back that partied so hard off the field a bystander was shot and killed.

Josh Brent, current Dallas Cowboy, killed a teammate drunk driving. The Cowboys were waiting on him with open arms when he was released from jail.

I could go on and on...

Why do you think that Greg Hardy listed the Dallas Cowboys as his first choice? The Cowboys are America's team. America the land of second chances.

The Cowboys are the one team that you can go to prison, kill a teammate, beat up a women half your size and get the opportunity to keep playing football and not get heckled.

It's not just the teams fault. We love these players. We cheer for this team. We make these individuals stars again.

In America, we believe we all deserve a second chance. Why are we upset that our team feels the same way?

This is business as usual...

I remember Jerry saying in an interview that nobody knows how big the check he would write to win a Super Bowl would be. Know we know those checks are written in blood.