Here’s the thing about the John Wall-Cowboys jersey story.
1) No, it’s not particularly important, although few things are.
2) Still, it’s amazingly fun to discuss!
3) And whether your opinion is “I’m glad he’s standing his ground,” or “How could he stab D.C. in the back like that?” or “Being a Cowboys fan shows that he’s totally a Washingtonian” or “Lord this is dumb,” everyone seems to have an opinion.
So anyhow, ESPN 980’s Bram Weinstein was among the many who discussed Wall wearing an Emmitt Smith jersey on the sidelines at FedEx Field before a Redskins-Cowboys game; that Wall distinguished between the offensiveness of wearing a classic throwback jersey and a modern model like Dak Prescott; that Wall unapologetically defended his Cowboys fandom in subsequent interviews; and that many locals took at least mild umbrage to all of this.
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“I’m glad he’s a fan, and I’m glad he’s into it, and I don’t really care who he roots for,” Weinstein said. “I want to embrace the guy. He’s one of the stars of this town. I want to embrace him. But when you do something like that — I hate this term, bad optics, I really do — but it just is. It just is. I don’t care that you root for them. I actually find it funny if someone asked you in the arena who’s your favorite team, you say Cowboys, get booed, and you laugh it off, and you’re wearing a Wizards jersey when you do it.
“But to show up there, in that, hugging Dez Bryant: it just doesn’t look good,” he said. “And honestly, I don’t see the difference of him wearing a Dak Prescott jersey or an Emmitt Smith jersey. It’s the same thing to me. I don’t see the difference. … Whether you like this or not, you’re one of us now, okay, you’re one of us. And we want to hug you and embrace you and pick you up on our shoulders and carry you around town and put the billboards up that you want, like James Harden has. We want to do all those things with you, but at some point, you need to smile back at the community and say ‘I’m one of you. We are in this together. I love being here.’ And not wear an Emmitt Smith jersey to FedEx Field.”
Some of you will agree with that, and some of you will disagree, and some will say this entire issue is stupider than a presidential debate over Rosie O’Donnell. But Wall was asked about the jersey topic at least twice during media day on Monday. Once came during his press conference; “that didn’t bother me at all,” he said of the criticism. And once came during an interview with NBA TV; “I just brushed it off and kept going,” he said. “It was a great game, and my team won, so we’ll leave it at that.”
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And after that, he did an interview with Weinstein on ESPN 980, at the end of which Weinstein brought out a surprise. It was a Darrell Green jersey!
“I know what it is,” Wall said when Bram mentioned a gift.
“I know you like legends,” Weinstein said “So I was thinking Darrell Green. Just in case. I don’t want to change your fandom, but just in case you want to go back to FedEx Field, I thought a legendary Redskin would work for you.”
“I’ll give it to my assistant, let him hold it down for you,” Wall said. “We’ll frame it. I appreciate it.”
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