New Book Details Racial Tension On 90's Cowboys

[Seven]

umm. mike fisher already wrote about that in 94 in his book stars and strife.

Nate and a handful of others used that nickname and didnt get along with a number of the white players.

the players named the offensive line meeting room "cell Block 6" and newton, cornish and erik williams called themselves the commitee. Newton had hats and shirts made.

Oh, the irony.............

 

[QT]

I remember an instance where some unnamed black player accused Aikman of yelling at black guys on the field more then the white guys. Then Michael Irvin jumped in and said that Aikman was not being racist. (I always thought the player that accused Aikman of this was Kevin Williams) I remember Kevin getting blasted by Aikman several times on the field.

Michael and Troy have such a unique relationship. I'm so glad they were able to play together. Michael would always cover Aikman's back; and vice versa, Aikman being in the courtroom to support Michael. I remember Michael saying in an interview that everytime they talk on the phone together, they would say "i love you".

 

[CoCo]

I love the relationship that Irvin & Aikman apparently have. What a testament it is.

I do seem to recall Blake causing some racial stirs. Maybe it was just with Dallas but I thought there was more to it than that. Maybe not.

Obviously I only get what we see in the media but I am not impressed with Nate Newton's character at all. I recall stories about his marital unfaithfulness, his connection to the white house and his unrepentant attitude towards it all. Then the trafficking and jail time. I don't know if he was ever part of racism. Someone in an earlier thread credited him for turning his life around. Maybe he has. Or maybe he's just smart enough to realize there are legal income options that keep you out of jail. I put very little stock in what he has to say as a result of all this. Although I know some believe his pro-bowl credentials make him a reputable source.

I love the story about Bayless spreading the rumors about Aikman to the point that Troy reportedly checked with his lawyer to see what it would cost him in a settlement if he actually punched out Bayless. Ultimately Aikman turned the other cheek. Ohhh, what might have been...

 

[Chief]

Troy was/is a perfectionist. A detail person, with very little tolerance for people who cut corners or slack off.

I don't think he singled out people because of their race. He singled out the people who do sloppy work in practice or games.

I've read about some of the top actors being the same way. If someone else showed up late or didn't know their lines, the main actor would chew them out. Same thing with Troy.

 

[DandyDon1722]

why would you be disappointed? the whole world is full of racial tension, why should our favorite team be exempt?

I'm surprised you ask that Ice. I would be disappointed because sports has for the most part been transcedent of race as compared to "the rest of the world." If that wasn't the case Jackie Robinson would have been just another player instead of the catalyst for social change.

When I see Aikman, a kid from Oklahoma and his genuine love of Irvin, a kid from the streets of Miami who both experienced the same things on the same team as Newton, who promoted this trash, yeah it bothers me and disappoints me and I'm glad it does.

 

[YosemiteSam]

It's the usual White House, drugs, party references, along with some Charles Haley and Barry Switzer craziness, but I have to admit it was a little unerving listening to the guy talk about the racial tensions, specifiaclly he mentioned Nate Newton and a nickname that he had for some of the black players that was "anti-white." (didn't say what it was)

Nah he isn't lying, Nate was that way. Funny thing is, he sent his kids to a Christian School to boot. (Fort Worth Christian)

Now Charles Haley, everyone knew how he was. While everyone loved him on the field, he was a dirt bag as a person and was very racial.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I think it's genuinely niave to believe that this kind of thing doesn't tend to happen to some degree on every team. I mean you're just naturally going to have people who are racist in every walk of life so i dont see how the Dallas Cowboys, or sports in general, would be any different.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I know as fans we hate seeing this because the team concept of sports almost always transcends this stuff but apparently it ain't gonna be pretty.

It does!?!?

 

[bbgun]

Well, if the author gets his facts right, then truth is his defense. But a lot of this strikes me as old news/sensationalism.

 

[links18]

I remember an instance where some unnamed black player accused Aikman of yelling at black guys on the field more then the white guys. Then Michael Irvin jumped in and said that Aikman was not being racist. (I always thought the player that accused Aikman of this was Kevin Williams) I remember Kevin getting blasted by Aikman several times on the field.

Michael and Troy have such a unique relationship. I'm so glad they were able to play together. Michael would always cover Aikman's back; and vice versa, Aikman being in the courtroom to support Michael. I remember Michael saying in an interview that everytime they talk on the phone together, they would say "i love you".

Yeah, at the time Irvin said something to the effect of "....Of course Aikman yells at the black players a lot, but if you look at the offense the only ones who aren't black are him, Moose and Novacek, so of course he is going to be yelling at black players a lot." Something like that......

 

[Bob Sacamano]

This smacks of sensationalism for the sake of sensationalism centered around the Cowboys with the intent of making an easy buck. That said I'm interested, but I'd certainly take anything said with a grain of salt.

I don't know, Charles Haley was reportedly pretty racist, he wanted to replace all the whites on the Dline

 

[ilovejerry]

C'mon, training camp!!!!

 

[ilovejerry]

I don't know, Charles Haley was reportedly pretty racist, he wanted to replace all the whites on the Dline

 

[StoneyBurk]

danny bradley got all the racial stuff started and then boo blake ran with it to switzer. Blake kept the crap going. The Cowboys let him go to OU while they were preparing for the super bowl and decided they didn't need a dl coach for the super bowl.

 

[Skinsmaniac]

I expect this kind of thing goes on to a varying degree in every locker room.

 

[jcblanco22]

Yeah, at the time Irvin said something to the effect of "....Of course Aikman yells at the black players a lot, but if you look at the offense the only ones who aren't black are him, Moose and Novacek, so of course he is going to be yelling at black players a lot." Something like that......

IIRC, this whole issue was excacerbated at the time by Aikman laying into Erik Williams after the last offensive play of the infamous "4th and 1" game in Philly late in the '95 season. Aikman had just gotten sacked to end any chances Dallas had and the FOX cameras caught him yelling intensely at Williams while they were still on the field.

 

[IndianaCowboyFan]

I love the story about Bayless spreading the rumors about Aikman to the point that Troy reportedly checked with his lawyer to see what it would cost him in a settlement if he actually punched out Bayless. Ultimately Aikman turned the other cheek. Ohhh, what might have been...

I now have more respect for Troy than ever before. It is too bad that some people will never be able to get past the racial thing. Especially when there as so many better reasons to dislike someone.

 

[jcblanco22]

I've always believed there was no love lost between Aikman and Sanders the rest of the time Sanders was with the Cowboys because Sanders continued behind the scenes to get his digs into Aikman. Sanders got along great with Emmitt & Michael but not with Aikman. Again, IMHO, Sanders resented not being the biggest star in Dallas, as he had been elsewhere & that was behind his problem with Aikman. I do remember reading just a few years later that Sanders continued his anti-Aikman comments (blaming Aikman for the Cowboys poor play the next few years) to the extent that Michael Irvin finally jumped all over Sanders and completedly defended Aikman.

There's no question there was some disdain, on the part of Sanders towards Aikman at least, by the end of the '99 season. After the loss to the Vikings in the Wild Card game that turned out to be Gailey's swan song, I distinctly remember Sanders saying that in the post season the superstars had to play like superstars, and not all of them had. He counted himself and Emmitt as having done what they could, essentially naming Aikman without so many words.

Then, a few months later early in the baseball season, I recall reading where Sanders had been at the Rangers home opener and ran into Gailey, who was also in attendance. I believe Sanders again took the opportunity to jab Troy, stating that Gailey had been a terrific coach and had been unjustly fired because of some "personalities" on the team not agreeing with him, not because of his coaching.

 

[links18]

There's no question there was some disdain, on the part of Sanders towards Aikman at least, by the end of the '99 season. After the loss to the Vikings in the Wild Card game that turned out to be Gailey's swan song, I distinctly remember Sanders saying that in the post season the superstars had to play like superstars, and not all of them had. He counted himself and Emmitt as having done what they could, essentially naming Aikman without so many words.

Then, a few months later early in the baseball season, I recall reading where Sanders had been at the Rangers home opener and ran into Gailey, who was also in attendance. I believe Sanders again took the opportunity to jab Troy, stating that Gailey had been a terrific coach and had been unjustly fired because of some "personalities" on the team not agreeing with him, not because of his coaching.

Wow, didn't Troy restructure his contract to get Deion on the team? I hope this isn't true. Of course, by 99 Troy had become a bit of an endzone int prone, statute in the pocket. I think Troy did have it in for Gailey, but Gailey was none to kind to Irvin either, basically benching him on 3rd downs for the much heralded Jeff Ogden. He also benched Emmitt a fair amount for Chris Warren, if my memory serves me correct.

 

[DandyDon1722]

Wow, didn't Troy restructure his contract to get Deion on the team? I hope this isn't true. Of course, by 99 Troy had become a bit of an endzone int prone, statute in the pocket. I think Troy did have it in for Gailey, but Gailey was none to kind to Irvin either, basically benching him on 3rd downs for the much heralded Jeff Ogden. He also benched Emmitt a fair amount for Chris Warren, if my memory serves me correct.

You know what guys, with over a thousand views and 30 some responses after starting this thread, I've changed my mind and was guilty of one of my own rules. You never really want to know or sometimes meet your heroes because they will for the most part let you down. I actually believed it wasn't as bad as this guy might portray...but it's just still who we are.

With all of the your insights and other stories surrounding those teams I have come away with this.

There were obviously racial divides, but not any more than probably any other team.

After reading these stories it's obvious Aikman is a man's man and on a leadership par with Roger. The stuff he put up with was unbelievable. Punching Bayless would be so beneath him I'm glad he didn't do it.

Blake was a cancer and his reputation should follow him.

I don't think I'll be asking Charles over for my next birthday party with the fellas.