An ESPN host on Monday compared Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, to a slave owner for his response to national anthem protests in the NFL, just hours after ESPN suspended another network host for attacking Jones on social media and threatening to boycott his advertisers.
Michael Wilbon, co-host of ESPN's show "Pardon the Interruption," castigated Jones after the Cowboys owner said that he would bench players who kneel during the national anthem, according to press reports. Wilbon was debating the issue with his co-host, Tony Kornheiser, on air.
"He [Jones] said he wanted to honor the anthem, and it seemed like that was where he was going," Wilbon said. "But now it just seems like it was as phony as a three-dollar bill. And the word that comes to mind, and I don't care who doesn't like me using it, is 'plantation.'"
"The players are here to serve me, and they will do what I want no matter how much I pay them," Wilbon continued. "They are not equal to me. That's what this says to me and to mine."
Wilbon later doubled down on his comments on the "Dan Patrick Show," the Daily Wire reported. After calling Jones a "phony," Wilbon again described him as running a plantation.
"I was critical of Jerry Jones yesterday," Wilbon said. "I used the phrase 'plantation mentality,' so let me repeat it, because that's what it comes off as."
Wilbon's criticism came after Jones said Sunday night that Cowboys players would not play if they disrespect the American flag.
"If there is anything that is disrespectful to the flag then we will not play," Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News.
President Donald Trump praised Jones for his comments.
Watch Wilbon's initial criticism of Jones below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK9IxqI7JO0
And watch Wilbon doubling down on his comments: