- Messages
- 4,604
- Reaction score
- 0
'I'll never forget this, never as long as I live;' How Witten spearheaded the idea to honor families of fallen officers
By David Moore
OXNARD, Calif. -- They walked onto the practice field in silence, arms locked in a sign of unity and support.
There was Valerie Zamarripa, a mother who lost her son to a senseless ambush earlier this month, accompanied by quarterback Tony Romo and Mayor Mike Rawlings. Police chief David Brown found himself between tight end Jason Witten and cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
A summer of unrest has ignited a conversation about the racial divide in our country, about what has broken down in our communities that leads to this violence. It's an important and complex discussion.
Saturday afternoon was about something more basic. It was about the Cowboys, before their first full practice of this training camp, showing compassion for the family members of the five officers who were slain in downtown Dallas earlier this month.
"We're just going to stay arm-in-arm the best we can,'' safety Barry Church said. "Out here we're just playing a game. What they have to deal with is real life.
"If we can just lift spirits by what we're doing out here and just stay arm-in-arm and support their cause, I'm with that.''
Rawlings thanked the Cowboys for being the latest group to help lift the city up after the tragic events of July 7.
"Those families, those young kids, to be arm-in-arm with a quarterback, a coach or a big lineman, they'll remember that for the rest of their lives,'' Rawlings said of the 13 family members who made the trip to Southern California.
"You know, there are mythic moments in history, in the histories of cities. We went through a terrible one a few weeks ago. This hopefully is a mythic moment to take us to the next level.
"As I reminded the team today, they'll always be the Cowboys. But this year, play for Dallas like they've never played before."
Witten spearheaded what took place. It began when he approached Charlotte Jones Anderson in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"We need to do something,'' Witten told the Cowboys executive vice president. "What are we doing? What should we do''
"I don't know,'' Anderson responded. "What do you think?''
The conversation went from there. Witten was passionate that the club needed to do something for the families.
"A lot of people are doing great things and making donations, which is fabulous,'' Anderson said. "We felt like we could give them something that maybe would mean a little more.''
The idea to come out arm-in-arm belonged to Witten. So did the idea to wear a patch on their helmets in this camp that reads Arm in Arm.
The Cowboys have asked the NFL if they can wear that patch on their helmets this season. Discussions are ongoing.
Witten got emotional as he spoke about the day and the privilege it is to be a part of the Cowboys.
"I think that's really a gateway to special, unique experiences and opportunities for all of us as players,'' Witten said. "I think more than anything else, it leads to a responsibility, a responsibility of generations that have come before us and kids that look up to us as role models. And really, a responsibility to our community.
"That's what everybody as players in the organization felt, to represent our community, to give back to it. But more than anything, the special thing about our game is that it can bring our community together. It can lift you up when you're down.
"The organization just wanted to honor them, show tribute to the families and show support. It's all about uniting together as a community. It's great to do that on Day One of training camp.''
Brown, as he has since the tragedy, spoke about the need for athletes and others to have a voice in the conversation about race, to talk about the tension that too often exists between police departments and minority communities.
Brown spoke of how he grew up in a neighborhood where crack cocaine was sold. Determined to become part of the solution, he dropped out of college at the age of 21 to become a police officer.
On a practice field in Oxnard 33 years later, as Cowboys players and coaches dropped down to one knee and formed a circle around the Dallas police chief, he delivered that message.
"I talked about there being two things you can do,'' Brown said. "You can be part of the problem by being silent or being complicit, or you can be part of the solution by having a voice, by lending your role as a professional athlete to this cause.
"I think that people need to hear, from all parts of society, a discussion on race. It's the toughest discussion that we all have, but it's part of the root cause of some of the problems that we see in some of our communities.''
Brown called Saturday afternoon's experience overwhelming. He called the Cowboys' support for law enforcement priceless.
"I've got chill bumps,'' Brown said. "I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. I'm a three-generation Dallasite, so it means a lot.
"This is special, and we'll never forget the Cowboys organization for stepping up in our time of grief."
Tears ran down Valerie Zamarripa's face as she walked onto the field. Her son, Patrick, was a big fan of the Cowboys and Rangers. How could he not be?
"When he was a baby, I dressed him up in Cowboys gear so from the get-go, he was a total Cowboys fan,'' said Zamarripa, who wore a large circle pin with a picture of her son on a shirt that had Witten's name and number on the back.
"I'll never forget this, never as long as I live. This is something I never expected or imagined would happen in my life.''
Family members from four of the five slain officers flew to California on Friday evening and were put up at the Embassy Suites on the beach a few miles from the Cowboys' practice facility. They watched Saturday afternoon's practice, spoke to players and coaches, then had dinner with the team in its dining hall.
Each family received a helmet autographed by members of the team. They will fly back Sunday on the private jet of the Jones family. The organization paid for all of their expenses.
Jerry Jones told the players he's never been prouder of the team in his 27 years as owner.
"It was special to see the kids that were here and hopefully put a smile on their face,'' Witten said. "Maybe hug a loved one, a wife or a mother.
"We can't even imagine what they've gone through. I can't even fathom that. Just to hopefully put a smile on their face and show them how much we respect them and honor them in that.
"It's pretty simple,'' Witten continued. "The tribute was to them.
"It was about those families.''
By David Moore
OXNARD, Calif. -- They walked onto the practice field in silence, arms locked in a sign of unity and support.
There was Valerie Zamarripa, a mother who lost her son to a senseless ambush earlier this month, accompanied by quarterback Tony Romo and Mayor Mike Rawlings. Police chief David Brown found himself between tight end Jason Witten and cornerback Orlando Scandrick.
A summer of unrest has ignited a conversation about the racial divide in our country, about what has broken down in our communities that leads to this violence. It's an important and complex discussion.
Saturday afternoon was about something more basic. It was about the Cowboys, before their first full practice of this training camp, showing compassion for the family members of the five officers who were slain in downtown Dallas earlier this month.
"We're just going to stay arm-in-arm the best we can,'' safety Barry Church said. "Out here we're just playing a game. What they have to deal with is real life.
"If we can just lift spirits by what we're doing out here and just stay arm-in-arm and support their cause, I'm with that.''
Rawlings thanked the Cowboys for being the latest group to help lift the city up after the tragic events of July 7.
"Those families, those young kids, to be arm-in-arm with a quarterback, a coach or a big lineman, they'll remember that for the rest of their lives,'' Rawlings said of the 13 family members who made the trip to Southern California.
"You know, there are mythic moments in history, in the histories of cities. We went through a terrible one a few weeks ago. This hopefully is a mythic moment to take us to the next level.
"As I reminded the team today, they'll always be the Cowboys. But this year, play for Dallas like they've never played before."
Witten spearheaded what took place. It began when he approached Charlotte Jones Anderson in the aftermath of the tragedy.
"We need to do something,'' Witten told the Cowboys executive vice president. "What are we doing? What should we do''
"I don't know,'' Anderson responded. "What do you think?''
The conversation went from there. Witten was passionate that the club needed to do something for the families.
"A lot of people are doing great things and making donations, which is fabulous,'' Anderson said. "We felt like we could give them something that maybe would mean a little more.''
The idea to come out arm-in-arm belonged to Witten. So did the idea to wear a patch on their helmets in this camp that reads Arm in Arm.
The Cowboys have asked the NFL if they can wear that patch on their helmets this season. Discussions are ongoing.
Witten got emotional as he spoke about the day and the privilege it is to be a part of the Cowboys.
"I think that's really a gateway to special, unique experiences and opportunities for all of us as players,'' Witten said. "I think more than anything else, it leads to a responsibility, a responsibility of generations that have come before us and kids that look up to us as role models. And really, a responsibility to our community.
"That's what everybody as players in the organization felt, to represent our community, to give back to it. But more than anything, the special thing about our game is that it can bring our community together. It can lift you up when you're down.
"The organization just wanted to honor them, show tribute to the families and show support. It's all about uniting together as a community. It's great to do that on Day One of training camp.''
Brown, as he has since the tragedy, spoke about the need for athletes and others to have a voice in the conversation about race, to talk about the tension that too often exists between police departments and minority communities.
Brown spoke of how he grew up in a neighborhood where crack cocaine was sold. Determined to become part of the solution, he dropped out of college at the age of 21 to become a police officer.
On a practice field in Oxnard 33 years later, as Cowboys players and coaches dropped down to one knee and formed a circle around the Dallas police chief, he delivered that message.
"I talked about there being two things you can do,'' Brown said. "You can be part of the problem by being silent or being complicit, or you can be part of the solution by having a voice, by lending your role as a professional athlete to this cause.
"I think that people need to hear, from all parts of society, a discussion on race. It's the toughest discussion that we all have, but it's part of the root cause of some of the problems that we see in some of our communities.''
Brown called Saturday afternoon's experience overwhelming. He called the Cowboys' support for law enforcement priceless.
"I've got chill bumps,'' Brown said. "I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. I'm a three-generation Dallasite, so it means a lot.
"This is special, and we'll never forget the Cowboys organization for stepping up in our time of grief."
Tears ran down Valerie Zamarripa's face as she walked onto the field. Her son, Patrick, was a big fan of the Cowboys and Rangers. How could he not be?
"When he was a baby, I dressed him up in Cowboys gear so from the get-go, he was a total Cowboys fan,'' said Zamarripa, who wore a large circle pin with a picture of her son on a shirt that had Witten's name and number on the back.
"I'll never forget this, never as long as I live. This is something I never expected or imagined would happen in my life.''
Family members from four of the five slain officers flew to California on Friday evening and were put up at the Embassy Suites on the beach a few miles from the Cowboys' practice facility. They watched Saturday afternoon's practice, spoke to players and coaches, then had dinner with the team in its dining hall.
Each family received a helmet autographed by members of the team. They will fly back Sunday on the private jet of the Jones family. The organization paid for all of their expenses.
Jerry Jones told the players he's never been prouder of the team in his 27 years as owner.
"It was special to see the kids that were here and hopefully put a smile on their face,'' Witten said. "Maybe hug a loved one, a wife or a mother.
"We can't even imagine what they've gone through. I can't even fathom that. Just to hopefully put a smile on their face and show them how much we respect them and honor them in that.
"It's pretty simple,'' Witten continued. "The tribute was to them.
"It was about those families.''
