File image: Jerry Jones article
FRISCO, Texas - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones will be fined $250,000 by the NFL for flashing his middle finger to fans at the end of Sunday's game, the league announced Tuesday.
Jones has since apologized for the gesture, claiming he intended to give a thumbs up to Dallas fans, reports say.
Jerry Jones fined by NFL
Jones' fine was announced by the NFL on Tuesday after video went viral on social media depicting the Cowboys owner briefly holding up his middle finger at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
The incident happened late in the game against the New York Jets after another Dallas touchdown, the Associated Press says. The Cowboys won the game 37-22.
Jones is appealing the fine, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero says, claiming the gesture was "inadvertent."
Jerry Jones says middle finger was ‘inadvertent’
File image: Jerry Jones
What they're saying:
Jones explained the alleged slip-up in a radio interview Tuesday, the NFL and AP have reported.
"That was unfortunate. That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. "There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out in front -- not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with enthusiasm of Cowboys and certainly late in the game."
Jones added: "(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. But it got straightened around pretty quick. I had a chance to look at it. It got straightened out pretty quick, but the intention was 'thumbs up,' and basically pointing at our fans because everybody was jumping up and down excited."
Jerry Jones lawsuit
Dig deeper:
The NFL's fine is not Jones' only legal trouble at the moment. Last week, a lawsuit against the Cowboys owner was scheduled for a jury trial.
Jones was accused in 2020 of sexual assault, and the civil lawsuit has stalled and reopened several times in the years since.
A summary judgment request by Jones was denied Thursday by a Dallas County judge, court records say.
The case is now listed as reopened, and will be allowed to proceed to trial by jury.
Further requests and judgments could change or prevent the hearing.
The Source: Information in this article came from the NFL and Associated Press.
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