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Thursday, April 3, 1997

Jones finally acknowledges Cowboys' ills

By Frank Luksa

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

DALLAS - The first step toward cure is to admit an out-of-control problem. The next step is to seek help.

Jerry Jones has arrived at that sobering, belated admission. In doing so, the Cowboys' owner has taken two positive steps toward solving the issue of wayward player behavior that has sunk franchise image to an all-time low.

He's conceded an unsavory situation exists at Valley Ranch for which he knows no solution. This alone signals a healthy attitude shift. Jones, for years, denied the consensus that the Cowboys' sordid conduct could be restrained only by a restraining order.

Jones acknowledged his follow-up move this week and, by inference, the apparent size of the problem by the number of people necessary to correct it. Mere launch of the plan required hiring the double-team of former Cowboys' tailback Calvin Hill and his wife, Janet, as consultants.

The Hills are the first wave of player-support personnel that eventually will add four managers and more than 10 new staff to assist in substance-abuse counseling, post-career financial planning and spiritual needs. Also returning to the mix is a full-time security chief - a position held by ex-FBI agent Larry Wansley but abandoned by Jones soon after he bought the team in 1989.

The scope of the program in terms of manpower and money - Jones estimated the cost in multimillions - reflects serious intent at reform. Jones' commitment is too strong to interpret as a thin layer of pubic relations cosmetics. He can be faulted for not facing the issue sooner. But once in motion, he deserves support for applying every conceivable resource to restore the Cowboys' soiled reputation.

"I have a keen sensitivity of where we've been regarding on- and off-the-field behavior," he said, a remark indicating awareness that image is the product of behavior.

As always, the Jones motive will attract suspicion as self-serving. Of course it is, and that explains why he has been stirred into corrective action. His empire is threatened from within and without.

Consider the rich, exclusive marketing contracts Jones negotiated for himself. Another year sprinkled with player arrests and suspensions well might jeopardize those deals. Who wants their product linked with a renegade franchise?

The Cowboys' best interest is served by having its best players in uniform. Much of the relative failure of the 1996 team can be laid to the NFL-mandated absence of top receiver Michael Irvin when the season began, and defensive tackle Leon Lett when the season ended. Any attempt by Jones to prevent repeat substance-abuse offenses impacts favorably on future success and is worth the effort.

When Jones says he's sensitive to player behavior, it is a small leap of logic to assume he knows the negative image reflects on his stewardship. He is the man at the top. He is the ultimate authority and therefore the ultimate source of blame for allowing internal discipline to deteriorate.

Thus, any attempt to amend the Cowboys' behavior and improve their image also serves the purpose of restoring Jones as a take-charge commander. A proud man, Jones can wring scant pride from defending his players in the face of local disgust and national smear. He read how others wrote about the Cowboys last year.

Excerpt from the Chicago Tribune: "This was not the Bears whipping a cripple as much as exposing a fraud, archiving a myth. The Cowboys are extinct, casualties of their own excesses and arrogance. They will not be missed."

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: "The Cowboys are 1-3 and that is the best thing since draft beer was invented. You hope that they lose this week and next week and that their future is full of hookers, strippers and drug pushers."

From the Orlando Sentinel: "The Cowboys, their summer of disrespect over, departed for Dallas, posing yet one final question: How long does it take a caravan of limos to go from Orange County to Valley Ranch?"

Jones should be stung by comparison to high-character players stressed by the Rangers. Never in the history of either franchise have the Cowboys suffered second-class reference to the Rangers. Further danger to Jones arrives with the coming of NASCAR and thoroughbred racing, continued infatuation with the Rangers and the threat of entertainment dollars switching allegiance.

Any or all of those reasons are enough to prod Jones into a campaign designed to restore civil behavior to his team. Positive results can't be guaranteed, but at least he has taken that first, hard step toward cure. The owner has made a first, public admission that the Cowboys are sick and need help.

(Frank Luksa is a sports columnist for the Dallas Morning News. Write to him at: Dallas Morning News, Communications Center, Dallas, Texas 75265.)

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.

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