It was a perfect fake news frame up, featuring a splashy mythical quote from team owner Jerry Jones, supposedly threatening to fire any players who knelt for the national Anthem.

According to sources who spoke with Yahoo Sports, Jones casually chatted with a few members of the team’s leadership committee, letting them know the anthem was very close to his heart.

They have long known that Jones and head coach Jason Garrett have a deep well of affection when it comes to the people whose jobs involve protecting and serving.

Jones is known for being in tune with his captains and veterans, particularly the leadership counsel, which has bent Jones’ ear with past grievances – like the disruptive acts of Greg Hardy in 2015 – and let him know when something needed to be internally addressed.

It wiped out the myth that Jones was the team owner who would never open his stage for protest, but also recognized the ambitious racial and social equality push of NFL players can coexist with a revered symbol.