Texas Gov's Tweet About Cowboys Owner Firing Players Not Standing For Anthem: False

AUSTIN, TX — Donald Trump may not be the only high-profile politician attributing words to dignitaries that were never spoken: A recent tweet by the Texas governor asserting the Dallas Cowboys owner threatened to fire players not standing for the national anthem has been widely debunked.

With high praise, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott congratulated Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for supposedly telling his players to stand for the national anthem or find themselves out of a job. "Thank you Jerry Jones: Cowboys Jerry Jones to Players: Stand for the Anthem or you're off team," Abbott tweeted near midnight on Aug. 1.

Problem is, Jones never issued the edict.

Abbott, a Republican, tweeted his sentiment in reaction to a story in the Uconservative.net website that was headlined to that effect. But the story itself didn't quote Jones making the statement, other than to fold in a person's non-sourced July 27 tweet quoting the team owner as having said it, the fact-checking service PolitiFact found.

While apocryphal, the story of Jones' supposed edict comes close, but no cigar, as outlined by PolitiFact. While it's true Jones has expressed displeasure about former San Franscisco 49ers Colin Kapernick taking a knee in protest during the national anthem, as reported by a news blog post by the Dallas Morning News. Moreover, every Cowboys player thus far has stood for the anthem.

“I got to give a big pat on the back to our entire team, our coaching staff, our entire organization,” Jones said last season, as quoted in the Dallas Morning News. “We strongly, strongly support the flag. In every way, we support — it’s almost ridiculous to be saying it — the people that for generations and generations have given it all up so we can get out here and show off in front of millions of people on television. We respect that so much."

The Morning News newspaper reacted to Abbott's recent tweet, reiterating that no basis has been found property attributing Jones with the "you're fired" edict to his non-standing players. Snopes, another fact-checking site, also debunked the notion that Jones has ever issued the firing threats, focusing on a Facebook posting asserting this as fact.

The upshot: PolitFact rated this claim False.

An avid Trump supporter, Abbott gains scrutiny over the latest post in the wake of Trump's claims that the Mexican president congratulated him on cracking down on illegal immigration and that the head of Boy Scouts of America called him to say his recent speech at scouts headquarters was the greatest speech ever given to the assembly. The White House later acknowledged that neither of those calls actually happened.

>>> Read the full story at PolitiFact via Austin American-Statesman

Official photo of Gov. Greg Abbott via State of Texas