Jerry Jones’ Halloween costume gets slammed by National Federation of the Blind – “It’s a harmful stereotype”


On Halloween, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones decided to dress up as a blind referee to effectively mock their perceived incompetence. It has landed him in hot water, this time by the National Federation of the Blind.

According to TMZ, the NFB believes the owner‘s actions were harmful:

“When anyone perpetuates that stereotype, it’s harmful.”

They believe his costume comes from an underlying stereotype that blind people are inherently incompetent, which is harmful for them.

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Chris Danielsen, the NFB’s director of public relations, said:

“He does have blind Cowboys fans. They show up at games and put on headsets or listen on the radio. It may be something for him to think about.”

He also believes blind people want to be more involved in sports and jokes like the one the Cowboys owner made only make that a more difficult situation. He is also hoping that this will be a lesson for Jones.

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Blind people have a tough time, and having prominent and powerful figures mock them doesn’t help at all.


Will the NFL punish Jerry Jones for his costume?

It’s no secret that the NFL doesn’t like anyone criticizing referees. They sent a memo out in 2019 regarding the issue:

“Comments regarding the quality of officiating, individual calls or missed calls, the League’s officiating department, an officiating crew, or an individual game official; [a]ccusing game officials of acting with bias or in any way questioning the integrity of NFL game officials; or [p]osting negative or derogatory/demeaning content pertaining to officiating on social media.”

Daily Mail has reported that Jones will not be fined for his actions, though. Despite the memo, it appears the Cowboys owner will avoid any punishment this time around.

Detroit Lions v Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions v Dallas Cowboys

This could be because it wasn’t directed at a specific referee or even at an instance where referees failed. The costume is a broad joke about referees as a whole, so it’s not as if Jones called a press conference and stated that NFL referees do a poor job.

Since it’s less targeted, it seems the NFL is willing to let this one slide.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit TMZ, NFL and H/T Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Zachary Roberts





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