The Dallas Cowboys officially had their first training camp practice Sunday and the way they decided to start things off made a statement about unity to not only the NFL, but the nation. As a team, they walked arm in arm onto the field with a few special guest intertwined between players to make their statement known.
You may have forgotten, but earlier this month a sniper killed four police officers and a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer and it shook the entire Dallas community to the core.
Thanks to fellow Staff Writer Sean Martin, you can read some of the past and present Cowboys players reactions to the shootings in Dallas via twitter.
For such a devastating event to take place so close to home really impacted the community and in particular Dallas Cowboys’ own, tight end Jason Witten. He was so impacted by this dreadful situation that the wheels started turning, resulting in him trying to come up with some way to honor the people affected by the situation the most, the families of the officers that lost their lives in the line of duty.
Idea for Cowboys' unity statement today with Dallas PD started with Jason Witten and was in collaboration with Charlotte Jones.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) July 30, 2016
Witten’s idea quickly escalated and was then followed through in large part to Charlotte Jones-Anderson’s hard work and dedication to the organization. A lot of Witten’s teammates quickly jumped on board with the idea as well.
Here’s an exclamation of what the Cowboys organization and their players are trying to accomplish by coming together with the families of the fallen Dallas police officers, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, and Police Chief David Brown.
More about Cowboys bringing Dallas mayor and police chief and family members of 4 of the 5 fallen officers to camp: pic.twitter.com/9BEpLvaN34
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) July 30, 2016
There might not be any better way to get a point across than to have one of the most visible sports franchises in the world come together and make a statement of unity to everyone.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown even spoke with the team and encouraged them to use their status as a professional football player to help find a solution to stop the violence and come together as a community and nation.
.@DPDChief encouraged the players to use their voice towards the solution. #ArmInArm #DallasStong #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/oaHBXO2qYo
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) July 31, 2016
America’s Team plans to continue to show their support throughout training camp and preseason by wearing an “Arm In Arm” decal on the back of their helmets to signify the statement of unity, just like they did by interlocking their arms when first taking the field on Sunday to kick off training camp.
Here is a look at what the “Arm In Arm” decals look like.
The Cowboys are wearing a helmet sticker to support their "Arm in Arm" initiative for the City of Dallas Police Dept pic.twitter.com/cmCtGpivic
— Nick Eatman (@nickeatman) July 30, 2016
The hope is that they can continue to wear the decals in the regular season, but they’re still waiting to get official permission from the league.
Personally, I could really see the “Arm In Arm” initiative taking off and a lot of other teams around the NFL joining in with the Dallas Cowboys and their statement in support of unity.
In fact, the New Orleans Saints also faced a similar situation with police officers being gunned down in their community like Dallas did, so I could see them as being on board..
It’s way past time that people started standing up against the violence that has become a reoccurring theme here recently across our nation and I for one am proud of my Dallas Cowboys for coming up with a way to do just that.
You can bet that the families of the slain Dallas officers appreciate what the Cowboys organization is trying to do, as well as the Dallas PD. It might have just brightened their day just a little bit to be able to take the field with their local sports team, after nearly a month of grieving the loss of their loved ones.
Chief Brown even took to twitter and expressed his appreciation to the Cowboys organization.
.@dallascowboys Thank you & Jones' fam for hosting the families of the fallen officers on your 1st day of practice! pic.twitter.com/W8jPg17bbm
— Chief David O. Brown, COO Loncar Lyon Jenkins (@ChiefDavidBrown) July 30, 2016
We need more sports organizations around our nation doing things like this and maybe, just maybe we can unify as a nation and stop the violence.
Way to go Dallas Cowboys!
It’s about time someone takes a stand and do the right thing for a change.
With all the negative press going on with the alleged domestic violence case and multiple suspensions due to use of illegal substances, it is refreshing to see this franchise being portrayed in such a positive way. It should come as no surprise when you have such a great humanitarian as your leader (Jason Witten) combined with such a powerful figure in Charlotte Jones-Anderson. I appreciate the fact that you (Brian Martin) are a positive person and write articles like these that gives us more reasons to be proud of our Cowboys! I also really dig how you credit your Sean Martin for compiling more evidence relative to the story. Being referenced as a colleague must build his confidence up – and for good reason, I recognize the growth in his perspective over these past few months. I'd be a proud dad if my son wrote such articles with maturity beyond his years. Keep it up Martin family, you're doing a great job!
FanInHawaii, I don't think I've ever received a better comment on one of my articles. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts. I agree with everything you said about the Cowboys and especially Jason Witten and Charlotte Jones-Anderson. I also really appreciate you complementing me personally. I'm glad you enjoyed my article and I will try my best to keep churning them out.