Dak Prescott Sends Message to NFL Officials Following Comments on Fans Throwing Objects
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott took some heat for the comments he made about fans throwing objects at officials after Sunday's playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. When asked about the incident, Prescott said, "Credit to them then. Credit to them," praising the fans for going after the officials. On Tuesday, Prescott took to Twitter to apologize for his comments.
"I deeply regret the comments I made regarding the officials after the game on Sunday. I was caught up in the emotion of a disappointing loss and my words were uncalled for and unfair," Prescott said. "I hold the NFL Officials in the highest regard and have always respected their professionalism and the difficulty of their jobs. The safety of everyone who attends a game or participates on the field of a sporting event is a very serious matter. That was a mistake on my behalf, and I am sorry."
The media went after Prescott for his initial comments as well as the NBA Referees Association. "The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials, the organization wrote on Twitter. "As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future."
Cowboys fans were upset with how the game ended. Prescott was leading the offense down the field to potentially win the game. But after running on a 17-yard gain with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and no timeouts, the Cowboys failed to spike the ball before the fourth quarter ended. Prescott failed to give the ball to the official to set it, which led to time expiring. The Cowboys' season comes to a screeching halt after having a regular season where they went 12-5 and won the NFC East.
"That is just unfortunate," Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan when asked about the fans throwing objects at the officials, per ESPN. "That is not the way I see our fans. I think we're a class act. I think there is no place for things like that. Understand people being frustrated, but I don't understand throwing things onto the field where people could get injured. There's just no place for that." Prescott and the Cowboys will now get ready for the 2022 season.