FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The NFL announced on Tuesday that it has fined Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones $250,000 for making an obscene gesture toward fans at MetLife Stadium. Jones described the gesture as “inadvertent” and said it was intended for Cowboys fans, not New York Jets supporters.
The incident occurred late in Dallas’ 37-22 victory on Sunday. Speaking on his radio show Tuesday, Jones explained that he meant to flash a “thumbs up” to celebrate with Cowboys fans.
Jones is expected to appeal the fine and has until Friday to make a decision, according to the team.
Video footage that went viral showed Jones smiling broadly as he pointed toward the crowd before briefly flashing the offending gesture. “That was unfortunate. That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan radio.
He added, “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.”
The gesture followed Dak Prescott’s fourth touchdown pass, which gave the Cowboys a 37-14 lead with 4:31 remaining in the game.
Jones emphasized that the gesture was unintentional: “(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.”
He continued, “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.”
This is not the first time an NFL owner has been fined for inappropriate behavior. Late in the 2023 season, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was fined $300,000 for throwing a drink at fans in Jacksonville. In 2009, the late Bud Adams was fined $250,000 after making obscene gestures while celebrating a Tennessee Titans victory over Buffalo.
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*This story has been corrected to show that the fine for David Tepper occurred late in the 2023 season, not the 2024 season.*
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