*Dallas Cowboys defensive end Damontre Moore was one of two players to protest Sunday during the national anthem.
Four days later, Moore was cut from the team – a move the Cowboys insist had nothing to do with his protests, according to ESPN.
Cowboys place-kicker Dan Bailey injured his groin Sunday, and to make room for a temporary replacement, Dallas needed to release a player. They chose Damontre Moore, and coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday it had nothing to do with the defensive end’s protests.
“We had to make a roster move and we just felt like the best decision for our team was to release Damontre Moore,” he said. Asked whether the player’s protests or an altercation in which he reportedly was involved last week at a nightclub had anything to do with the move, Garrett replied, “No.”
Moore and defensive tackle David Irving have been the only Dallas players to protest during the anthem. Neither knelt or sat, but both had staged brief demonstrations while standing during pregame renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The timing appeared to be an effort to sidestep an edict from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who said earlier this month that any players of his seen “disrespecting the flag” would be benched.
Moore had been raising his fist as the anthem concluded, but he changed that to a salute before Sunday’s game against the 49ers. After promising to “do something,” Irving held a fist over his heart during the anthem, then quickly raised it afterward.
Both players have said that they do not mean any disrespect to the flag, military members or anyone else. “It’s just something that I do,” Moore said earlier this month. “I’ve got my morals. I’ve got my values and my things that I think about. I don’t want to cause no attention to nobody else and bring unwanted attention, but on the same token, you know, there’s certain things that people are doing it for.”
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