Cowboys' Dontari Poe: Talk with Jerry Jones About Kneeling Was 'All Positive'

Dontari Poe had a plan when he joined the Dallas Cowboys and it had little to do with football. 

The free-agent acquisition knew no Cowboys player had previously kneeled during the national anthem to protest systemic racism and police brutality. He also knew by signing with Dallas, he'd end that streak. 

Before the defensive tackle began his demonstration in Week 1, he sat down with team governor and general manager Jerry Jones to explain the importance of the peaceful protest. Poe said Jones was "all positive" during the conversation. 

"I had to talk with Jerry, had to talk with teammates, coaches to make sure this didn't take away from our ultimate goal," Poe said Wednesday, per USA Today's Jori Epstein. "And I just told them: I want to do this. If they had a problem with it, we were always open to sit down and talk about it. I want to explain to them what my reasoning was for this."

Poe said both he and Jones explained their perspectives during their conversation and the discussion overall was encouraging. 

The veteran tackle has gone on to kneel during the anthem in each of the first three games this season and he said he'll continue to do so. 

"Just because I felt like America in the whole wasn't doing the right thing about stuff that was happening to the people of my color," Poe said. "I feel like the oppression that's being had, the racial injustice that is being had was really unfair and I feel like us as a country can do more. ... I just want it to be known that I felt like it was wrong. I felt like it is wrong in the past, present, hopefully not in the future but maybe."

Poe added that he'll kneel until "I feel like it's taking a step in the right direction."

That he's doing so as a member of the Cowboys is certainly notable. 

In 2017, Jones told reporters that anyone who "disrespects the flag" won't be allowed to play.

"We cannot in any way give the implication that we tolerate disrespecting the flag," Jones said then. "We know that there is a serious debate in this country about those issues, but there is no question in my mind, that the [NFL] and the Dallas Cowboys are going to stand up for the flag." 

Three years later, Jones has adapted his views. 

"That's the great thing about America: Everybody has a difference," Jones told 105.3 The Fan in early September (via Epstein). "If our players are there, they are sensitive to and respect what America is as it relates to the flag. I'll assure you that. I'd hope that our fans—and I think they will—understand that our players have issues that they need help on. They need help from the majority of America."

Part of Poe's demonstration—and Colin Kaepernick's before him—was to invite an honest conversation about race and policing in America. 

In signing Poe, the Cowboys invited that conversation into their locker room. The defensive tackle was more than ready for it.