Jerry Jones, who cracked open a can of Miller Lite to share his thoughts on the allegations about the NFL combine, believes the event is beneficial to both players and owners from a financial standpoint.
However, he agreed that teams should refrain from asking personal, intrusive, and dehumanizing questions during the interview process. Jones made his comments after NFLPA Executive Demaurice Smith went on record in favor of abolishing the combine entirely, claiming that its purpose is “for the teams to engage in intrusive employment actions that don’t exist anywhere else.”
What are the Cowboys’ owner’s thoughts on the NFL combine?
While speaking with local Cowboys media members, Jones said that the interview process of the NFL combine represented all NFL teams and should be appropriately addressed to playing football.
During the interview process, Jones said teams should refrain from asking personal questions about a player’s family background. He cited a case where one of his own players, Dez Bryant, was asked if his mother was a prostitute by the then-Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland.
Jones believes that the NFL can make the combine just like any other job interview process, where players would be comfortable answering questions. Jones, however, also believes that the players should appreciate the promotion and buzz that comes with the combine as it can financially impact them.
The league no longer issues the Wonderlic test, an aptitude exam that has been criticized for being racially biased and irrelevant to the NFL. The league also changed the timing of the workouts to a late afternoon event this season, instead of a made-for-television night event on the NFL Network. Jones believes that putting the combine on television to satisfy the interest of fans is in the best interest of the players and the league.
Is the combine really a ‘slave auction’?
Jones called the combine a unique opportunity for NFL prospects, a time when only a few out of 75,000 players who played college football get to come and be invited to talk about their workout. While he refused to delve into the comparisons of the combine to a slave auction and call it “just business”, he believes the NFL is doing everything it can to make the combine better for players.
Jones also warned that if players aren’t satisfied, they may not get drafted as high. Jones emphasized that the combine is just like the interview process of a major company and asking those kinds of questions.
