Mike Florio ,
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During Sunday night’s Vikings-Cowboys game, NBC’s cameras captured an image of Cowboys owners Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones, watching the action from their suite. Stephen was speaking into a walkie-talkie .
Beyond the jokes it inspired (some funny, some not), the situation sparked obvious speculation: Who was Stephen talking to?
Via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com, Stephen Jones explained the situation during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Jones said that he uses it for injury updates from the press box and other “important updates” from around AT&T Stadium.
The situation raises questions because of the NFL rule that prohibits in-game communication with sideline personnel during games. In 2015, then-Browns G.M. Ray Farmer was suspended four games and the team was fined $250,000 for texts sent by Farmer to an assistant coach and another employee on the sideline regarding strategy and use of personnel.
That’s not an issue in this case, based on the explanation given by Stephen Jones. And while there’s no reason to dispute the accuracy of his version of the events, would anyone admit to using a walkie-talkie or other device to engage in communications that may not be allowed?
Text messages can be preserved and reviewed. A walkie-talkie is a low-tech way to create no paper trail. Absent simultaneous evidence showing that someone on the sideline had the other walkie-talkie, there’s no digital smoking gun.
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