Cowboys cut the wrong man, and he may sue
Accused of domestic violence? Accused of assault? Arrested on a count of DWI? The Cowboys have your back. But falsely accused of petty larceny? The Cowboys can’t have that on the team.
On Monday, the Cowboys cut Lucky Whitehead shortly after it was reported the wide receiver had been arrested for shoplifting in Virginia and had failed to appear in court. TMZ reported Tuesday that Whitehead was falsely identified, and the case has been dropped following an internal investigation.
TMZ spoke with Paul Ebert, attorney for Prince William County Commonwealth, who said that the man arrested did not have an ID and was “verbally identified” by the arresting officer as the Cowboys wide receiver.
Police reportedly later looked at surveillance video from the convenience store, which revealed the man in question was not Whitehead.
Whitehead’s agent, Dave Rich, spoke with the gossip site and said: “Lucky is thrilled justice was served and his name was cleared. It’s a shame that he came into town to do a camp for kids and he ended up getting cut by his professional football team.”
Speaking with the Dallas Morning News, Whitehead said he was “blindsided” by the false reports and the lack of support he received from the Cowboys organization.
“I was pretty much being called a liar” Whitehead said. “The head person [in the Cowboys organization] I told, no one backed me up. No one had my back in the whole situation … As far as the stuff that was preached [by the Cowboys], I was left out to dry.”
The Cowboys talking points are accountability, responsibility and discipline, which head coach Jason Garrett constantly preaches.
“You see the mantras that are all around the [Cowboys] star. I mean, by 12:45 I figured out that this is even going on. By 2:30 I was released,” Whitehead said. “What’s the real reason? Let me clear my name. I didn’t have time to do that.”
It is curious the Cowboys were willing to stand behind players such as cornerback Nolan Carroll after his DWI arrest in May, and linebacker Damien Wilson after his aggravated assault charge in July, and running back Ezekiel Elliot after his alleged bar fight last week, which was preceded by a domestic violence claim that the NFL is still investigating.
Yet the team apparently wasted little time in removing Whitehead after the false reports came out.
During a Tuesday press conference at the Cowboys’ training camp, Garrett and the organization did not back down from their decision to cut Whitehead.
“In evaluating the particular situation, and the context of that situation, we felt like we made a decision in regards to Lucky that was right for our team,” Garrett told reporters. “And we stand by that decision.”
While the Cowboys did not offer any kind of apology to Whitehead, Sgt. Jonathan Perok of the Prince William County Police Department said, “The police department regrets the impact these events had on Mr. Whitehead and his family.” Perok contended, though, the arresting officers “acted in good faith.”
Whitehead is considering taking matters to court. While speaking with KDFW4 in Dallas, the ex-Cowboy was asked if he planned on taking legal action. Whitehead said, “Somebody need to.”
Whitehead, who went undrafted in 2015, played sparingly in 30 games in two seasons with Dallas, where he returned punts and kicks.