If you’re looking for an old school journalist who has their finger on the pulse of the most pressing and vital issues in sports, look no further than legendary Dallas sportscaster, Dale Hansen. The award-winning weeknight sports anchor at WFAA, who was a radio color commentator for the Cowboys once upon a time, has been vocally critical of the team, the NFL and the greater sports community in the past — often promoting values that he believes have been ignored, overlooked or misunderstood. He spoke out in support of Michael Sam as the first openly gay player in the NFL. He lambasted the Cowboys for employing domestic abuser, Greg Hardy. He called out his own father’s institutionalized racism while condemning the social constructs that empowered racist high school students at a local basketball game. He even criticized the country’s gun laws, and the national conversation about guns, after a gunman terrorized Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people. So it should come as no surprise that he and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones do not see eye to eye when it comes to peaceful protest in the NFL. Hansen defended Colin Kaepernick and the national anthem protests last year after Donald Trump called for players who kneel to be fired, saying that “they [NFL players], and all of us, should be protesting how black Americans are treated in this country.” On Monday, he reiterated his stance — going in on Jones for his hypocrisy when it comes to showing “respect” during the national anthem. Jerry Jones told me no media critic had done more to annoy, aggravate and infuriate him than @dalehansen of @wfaa in Dallas. Watch this to understand why. https://t.co/c3bgg0n1QW — Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) July 30, 2018 “Jones and his son Stephen were saying the other day that any player who takes a knee and doesn’t toe the line during the national anthem won’t be playing for the Dallas Cowboys anymore,” said Hansen. “It’s incredible to me that a player can beat up a woman and play for the Dallas Cowboys, a player can use illegal drugs, time and time again, and still play, but you take a knee to protest the racial injustice in America and now you’ve crossed a line that he will not allow.” Most embarrassing for Jones, however, was a video that WFAA obtained showing the Cowboys owner talking with his hat on while the national anthem was being played. Hansen was more than happy to point out the paradox. “Jones loves and respects the national anthem so much that when it was being played before the start of practice Saturday, he left his cap on. And when he was told about the mistake he was making, he still left his cap on. He who makes the rules, apparently doesn’t have to follow them.” The NFL reportedly reached out to Jones and told him to stop talking about the anthem as they desperately try and fail to rework the anthem policy in a way that will please owners, players and fans. Thankfully, when the league fails to police their most powerful owner, Hansen always steps up to the plate.<doc-sep>Meanwhile, the NFL and the NFL Players Association are working to resolve a policy owners approved in May, one that empowers the league to fine a team if a player protests during the anthem. It was up to each team whether players would be disciplined, and the new policy gave players the option of staying in the locker room. Previously, players were required to be on the field, but the rule did not require them to stand. The union filed a grievance over the new policy, and both sides agreed earlier this month to put implementation of the policy and the grievance on hold while trying to work out a resolution.<doc-sep>Jerry Jones brought this upon himself. The Dallas Cowboys owner who has insisted on keeping the NFL’s national anthem controversy in the headlines to the point that the league reportedly told him to shut his mouth now finds himself in the crosshairs for his own lack of decorum during the Star-Spangled Banner. Jones attended a Cowboys practice on Saturday that was opened by a trumpeter’s rendition of the national anthem. Dallas’ WFAA was there with cameras and caught Jones slipping at a very inopportune time. Jerry Jones refuses to take hat off for national anthem Jones was wearing a Cowboys hat and did not remove it, a clear breach of protocol of acceptable behavior during the national anthem. To make matters worse, Jones’ son and Cowboys COO Stephen Jones appeared to point out the etiquette breach, only to find his suggestion that dad remove his hat promptly blown off. WFAA sports anchor Dale Hansen, a long-time fixture on the Dallas sports scene known for thoughtful, provocative commentary, called Jones out for his hypocrisy. “Jones loves and respects the national anthem so much, that when it was being played before the start of practice Saturday, he left his cap on. And when he was told about the mistake he was making, he still left his cap on. He who makes the rules, apparently doesn’t have to follow them.” Anthem controversy finds a new, absurd level Hansen’s point is salient. At the same time, this is absurd. All of it. The fact that Cowboys players and employees can’t start their work days without the Star-Spangled Banner is bizarre and ritualistic to begin with. Imagine the average American worker showing up at the office or restaurant or construction site and being being forced to stand at attention before getting on with the task at hand. It’s a practice that has become custom at actual sporting events and is now apparently a required part of the mundane preparation for those games as well. Jones brought this attention upon himself Story continues Once we’re past the oddity of the ritual itself, the fact that the minutiae of an individual’s participation in said ritual is being parsed so publicly is also quite bizarre. But it’s something that can’t be ignored in light of Jones’ hard line on the anthem and his perpetual need to be looked at. Jones made waves last week when he told media that Cowboys players are required to literally toe the line when it comes to the national anthem. This pronouncement came despite the NFL calling for a hiatus on the issue until it can figure out how to get a firmer grasp on the colossal, self-induced cluster that it has created by botching the anthem issue at almost every step. “Our policy is that you stand for the anthem, toe on the line,” Jones said. Jerry Jones, who perpetually draws attention to himself and the NFL anthem flap, got caught slipping on protocol before a Cowboys practice. (AP) Jones changes tune when he knows cameras are there Jones pulled off one of 2017’s most impressive look-at-me moments before a Cowboys game with the Arizona Cardinals when he locked arms with players and knelt on the field prior to the Monday night game. It was a momentary shocker at the height of the in-season anthem hubbub that wore off when the cameras zoomed out to reveal that the flag had not yet been unveiled and the anthem was not yet being played. So Jones eats this up. He clearly loves being at the center of this kind of attention and wielding sway over players who may feel otherwise compelled to use protests during the anthem to bring attention to social and racial injustice in the United States. It’s why there was a camera pointed directly at him during Saturday’s anthem rendition at Cowboys practice. Except this time, Jones was apparently unaware of the attention directed his way, and we all got a clear candid look at his non public-relations approach to the national anthem. That approach appears to include a nonchalant and intentional disregard for holding himself to the same hard-line standards he imposes on his employees. More from Yahoo Sports: • Dak Prescott gets called out by Raiders LB for criticism of anthem protests • Ex-WWE wrestler Brian Christopher dies at 46 • LeBron James’ new school looks amazing • Brian Dawkins reveals career-long battle with depression ———————— Jason Owens is a writer for Yahoo Sports. 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Last week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that his players would not be afforded the opportunity to remain in the locker room for the national anthem, regardless of what the league’s policy stated. Jones said he expected all his players to “stand during the anthem, toe on the line.” NFL has since reportedly told Jones to stop making statements on the anthem as the league and NFLPA work towards an agreed policy. Yet, while Jones likes to present such a high regard for the anthem, Dallas WFAA sportscaster Dale Hansen pointed out that Jones didn’t follow his own words. Hansen said: “Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had been talking this week about getting his football team ready to play in another Super Bowl. It has been 22 years since they have, and only three playoff wins in those 22 years. But Jones talks about that almost every year anyway. And he has been talking too much this week about all the problems the NFL is still having off the field. “Jones and his son Stephen were saying the other day that any player who takes a knee and doesn’t toe the line during the national anthem won’t be playing for the Dallas Cowboys anymore. It’s incredible to me that a player can beat up a woman and play for the Dallas Cowboys. A player can use illegal drugs, time and time again, and still play. But you take a knee to protest the racial injustice in America, and now you’ve crossed a line that he will not allow. “Jones loves and respects the national anthem so much that when it was being played before the start of practice Saturday, he left his cap on. And when he was told about the mistake he was making, he still left his cap on. “He who makes the rules apparently doesn’t have to follow them.” The video flashed to a shot of Jones keeping his hat on during the anthem and having a conversation. Back in September, Hansen delivered a powerful defense of NFL players protesting during the national anthem.