LeBron James said this week he was disappointed that he hadn't been asked about the Jerry Jones photo.
Jones responded Friday by complimenting the NBA legend.
Jones has come under fire in the aftermath of a Washington Post report on the Cowboys owner’s track record on racial equality. Among the more damning parts of the article was a photo from 1957 of a 14-year-old Jones standing in the back of a group of students on the steps of North Little Rock High School.
In the photo, a group of bullies are attempting to prevent the desegregation of the school by blocking Black students from the entrance. In response, Jones said he was “just a curious kid” and didn’t understand the gravity of what was happening.
"I think the key thing for me is it's a misread if you think I don't recognize how monumental those days were,” Jones later said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan “I think those were years before Martin Luther King even. And (I) respect the people that were involved that were (trying to) change things. I have a lot of respect for that."
But on Thursday, James took umbrage with the media for not asking him about the photo after the Lakers star had fielded questions weeks earlier about Kyrie Irving posting about an anti-Semitic film.
James said in the past that he grew up a Cowboys fan, but recently has walked that back. He said in October that he was no longer a Cowboys supporter, pointing to the team’s response to players kneeling during the national anthem in 2017.
Asked Friday on the “K&C Masterpiece” if he heard James’ comments and if he’d consider meeting with him, Jones responded by heaping praise on James.
“Well, first of all, you have to hear me say how much I think of LeBron. I don’t know of anybody I respect any more, I don’t know of anybody that has taken every opportunity he’s had and maximized it. He not only is an absolute great ambassador for sport, he has taken sports, he has taken his venues and used those platforms – I want to be sure that you know where I’m coming from.
“It made buttons pop off my vest, so to speak, when he would talk about how much of a Cowboy fan he was, and he would have made a great tight end. And that doesn’t change. There’s nothing about any of that that changes, and I did hear what he had to say.”
Pressed on if he had any response for James, Jones again went the compliment route.
“Certainly, he has influence, just because of all of the above. His accomplishments, how he’s utilized his sport, how he’s utilized his platform. He has enhanced basketball, he has made a lot of people a lot of money. I hope I have too.”
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