Dallas Cowboys Didn’t Know Josh Brent Would Be on Sidelines for Sunday’s Game

The Cowboys old school showdown with the Steelers on Sunday was full of moments that made us all shout. But one moment in particular occurred not on the field but on the sidelines. A week after killing his best friend in a fiery car crash for which he was arrested and charged for manslaughter, Cowboys lineman Josh Brent was back on the Dallas sidelines chatting up teammates and cheering his team on.

Everyone watching thought that this had been team approved, and the Dallas brass had invited Brent back after the mother of Jerry Brown begged people to forgive Brent for the crash that killed her son.

The only catch is Jerry Jones, Jason Garrett and others high up in the Cowboys command has absolutely no idea that Brent would be present on the sidelines Sunday.

From the Dallas Morning News:

"Owner Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones and head coach Jason Garrett weren’t aware that Brent was going to be at the game until they saw him on the sidelines. Brent eventually left the game once he realized he was being a distraction."

To be fair, Brent’s teammates had called him and asked him to come to the game on Sunday. The pleas apparently fell on either deaf ears when it came to those in charge, they were actually too busy preparing for a big game or they didn’t care enough to listen.

The situation with Brent is completely different from the one we saw in Kansas City. Even there, where a man deliberately murdered an innocent woman, teammates where honoring for the man they knew, not the monster he became. But in Brent’s case, Jerry Brown’s mother has basically adopted him as a son and frankly it’s a bit heart warming.

We’re a vengeful society, thirsty for blood when we’re wronged. Brent didn’t purposefully kill Jerry Brown but he was responsible nonetheless. But instead of cursing him to Hell, Brown’s mother has been by Brent’s side crusading for his forgiveness. She’s forgiven him, who are we to hold a grudge when the mother of the man Brent accidentally killed has none.

What’s more is Jerry Jones didn’t seem to care that he was left out of the loop on the decision to allow Brent back on the sidelines.

“Our team and our players wanted him today on the sideline,” Jones said. “Jerry’s mother asked us directly as a group. She said, ‘Support him. Help him. He needs your help. Jerry wants that. I want that.’ His teammates asked him to come and be down there with them.”

Furthermore, Brent being on the sideline on Sunday was the furthest thing from a distraction for the Cowboys. That right there should tell us all how things are between Brent, the Cowboys and Jerry Brown’s surviving family.