Jerry Jones Clarifies: 'Nothing Wrong' With Sean Lee"
By: Josh Clark
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called into the GBag Nation unsolicited on Wednesday to clear up the confusion surrounding Sean Lee's knee injury.
Jones says there is nothing wrong with Lee, but it comes after a lot of confusion on the status of the Cowboys best defensive player.
On Tuesday morning when Jones joined Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan, Jones seemed surprised when he was asked about the status of linebacker Sean Lee.
Joining the show, as he does every Tuesday, was Mac Engel from the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Engel had heard that Sean Lee had been hurt during the Cowboys preseason game in Seattle, so he took the opportunity to ask Jones how Lee is holding up.
Engel: Jerry, what's the status of Sean Lee?
Jones (befuddled): I'm not so sure, I know... He's the starter.
Engel (interrupts Jones): No, is he hurt?
Jones: No he's not hurt at all.
Engel: So he's good to go Thursday?
Jones (continues his previous statement): Not in any way. I don't know if he'll play Thursday. But... I'm not so sure I understand your question.
Engel: I was under the impression that he suffered some bumps and bruises in Thursday's game in Seattle.
Jones: No, he's fine.
Later Tuesday, during Jason Garrett's press conference with the media, the Cowboys head coach announced that Sean Lee had undergone an MRI on his knee, sparking confusion as to why Jerry Jones had said earlier that morning that Lee was fine.
After hearing criticism over what he did and didn't know, Jones decided to call into the GBag Nation on Wednesday afternoon to clarify the circumstances.
"Nobody, apparently the trainer knew, but Stephen (Jones) didn't know... Nobody in our organization knew that he (Lee) was getting an MRI, but the trainer. I'm gonna kick his ass for not sending me a note," Jones said. "But the bottom line is there's nothing wrong with Sean Lee. From time to time he likes to get an MRI or take a look at what he's doing. Generally we get a report the minute... no matter where I would happen to be, from the training room. They call my desk immediately because we do know it's a very sensitive thing and one we have to be right on top of."
Jones then revealed that it's not uncommon for a player to go and get an MRI with a trainer on his own. What's interesting is that neither Jerry, Stephen or Jason Garrett knew that Lee was getting an MRI.
"The bottom line is the implication was that I was not letting that kind of detail (out)... Well, Sean Lee isn't a detail. Sean Lee is something we'd be keenly aware of... all of us would be, the entire organization would be. I dare say the coach didn't know he was gonna ask for an MRI," Jones said. "The players do that and do that on their own. They can go get them on their own. But there's no issue with Sean Lee as far as him playing. We've been resting him throughout the year... been guarded about his contact for obvious reasons. We don't didn't think it was necessary to practice and play at a high level. But, let me assure you that we're not overlooking or getting late information on the health of a player, especially one with the status of Sean Lee."
According to Garrett at Tuesday's press conference, the Cowboys received positive results from the MRI on Lee's knee.
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