Jerry Jones on LeBron James Comments: 'I Did Hear What He Had to Say'

Jerry Jones praised NBA star LeBron James during a podcast on Friday. The Dallas Cowboys owner's remarks come days after James criticized the media for burying the controversy surrounding a resurfaced photo of Jones.

In the 1957 picture, which was recently published by The Washington Post, a teenage Jones can be seen standing in a crowd during a protest against integration at an Arkansas school. Critics, including ESPN analyst Jay Williams, have since called on the businessman to "publicly denounce racism." Jones has attempted to defend himself with claims that he was merely present at the civil rights clash as an observer.

Jones was asked about James' comments during an appearance on sports podcast K&C Masterpiece on Audacy's 105.3 The Fan.

"Well, first of all, you have to hear me say how much I think of LeBron," Jones said. "I don't know of anybody I respect any more, I don't know of anybody that has taken every opportunity he's had and maximized it."

James is a "great ambassador for sport," Jones continued. "I want to be sure that you know where I'm coming from. It made buttons pop off my vest, so to speak, when he would talk about how much of a Cowboy fan he was, and he would have made a great tight-end. And that doesn't change. There's nothing about any of that that changes, and I did hear what he had to say."

On Wednesday, James criticized the media during a post-game press conference, and highlighted the way journalists covered Jones' photo controversy versus the recent Kyrie Irving scandal.

Irving, a player for the Brooklyn Nets, apologized last month after getting suspended from the team for posting about the film, Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America on social media. The movie has been widely described as containing antisemitic disinformation.

"To All Jewish families and Communities that are hurt and affected from my post, I am deeply sorry to have caused you pain, and I apologize," Irving's statement read in part. "I initially reacted out of emotion to being unjustly labeled Anti-Semitic, instead of focusing on the healing process of my Jewish Brothers and Sisters that were hurt from the hateful remarks made in the Documentary."

Still, some critics weren't happy with the basketballer's statement.

Meanwhile, James told reporters on Wednesday that he felt "disappointed" they didn't ask him about Jones the way that they had with Irving.

"I feel like as a Black man, as a Black athlete, someone with power and with a platform, when we do something wrong or something that people don't agree with, it's on every single tabloid, every single news coverage. It's on the bottom ticker. It's asked about every single day," James said.

He then added: "But it seems like to me that the whole Jerry Jones situation, the photo, and I know it was years and years ago, and we all make mistakes, I get it. It seems like it's just been buried under, like, 'Oh, it happened. OK. We just move on.' And I was just kind of disappointed that I haven't received that question from you guys."

Newsweek reached out to representatives for James and the Dallas Cowboys for comment.

Update 12/2/22, 5:45 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background.

Do you have a tip on a sports story that Newsweek should be covering? Let us know via entertainment@newsweek.com.