Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is never a stranger to defending one of his hand-picked players when things are not going well, so it should come as no surprise Jones is defending defensive end Randy Gregory following a failed drug test and suspension by the league.
Gregory has now failed five drug tests since joining the Dallas Cowboys, which has led to 14 total games lost due to suspensions. He could be banned for a full year with his latest failed drug test.
“He’s our baby,” Jones said, setting up his Seinfeldian reference. “He may be an ugly baby, but he’s our baby.”
“I really hope that he can continue to make progress, and I do not rule out Randy Gregory being on the field for the Cowboys,” Jones said.
Gregory’s actions have also forced former Cowboys defensive lineman Charles Haley to give up on him. It seems Gregory may have wanted to come to blows with the former defensive standout, and Haley is having no more of it.
“I come out there to help him, and he tells people he wants to fight me,” Haley said in a radio interview on Tuesday. “So I’m done.”
Haley has personal experience making mistakes of his own, so Gregory would be wise to listen to him. That apparently is not the case, however, and Haley is offering one last piece of advice.
“I’m a guy who’s been through what he’s been through,” Haley said. “And I tried to tell the kid, ‘OK, you don’t have to do this for long. Call me. You can come live with me.’ But you know what? You’re going to do A, B and C [if you’re living with me]. But he don’t want to do it, so eff it.
“He’s gotta take responsibility for his actions.”
Haley also took aim at Jones.
“Jerry and them baby him by putting somebody in that house with him,” Haley said. “They never made him be responsible for himself. Maybe the best thing for him is to be free. Because you know what? At the end of the day, at the end of the year, you know Jerry and them ain’t going to keep him around, so I don’t understand.”
The problem is, Jones allows Gregory to keep making mistakes without any consequences unless mandated by the league office. Gregory absolutely needs to take responsibility for his actions, but Jones should be holding him accountable. Instead, Jones looks as Gregory as his ugly baby.