By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
The Dallas Cowboys are offering up no apologies and showing absolutely no remorse after cutting wide receiver Lucky Whitehead just two hours after police falsely accused him of shoplifting.
Whitehead was at practice on Monday when he learned that the Prince William County Police Department was claiming he had been arrested on June 22 for stealing approximately $40 worth of goods from a Wawa convenience store in Woodbridge, Virginia.
He explained to the organization that these claims were completely false and that he had in fact been in Dallas on the date in question, but his pleas fell of deaf ears.
Then, just a few hours after he was cut, a statement was released by authorities in Virginia explaining that Whitehead was not the suspect, blaming the mix-up on the fact that the man they arrested had no ID and gave the NFL star’s name.
The Cowboys responded to this update by stating that they stood by their decision and offering up no apology to Whitehead in an embarrassing three-minute press conference on Tuesday.
It was Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett who addressed the situation on Tuesday, choosing to deal with the media by repeating the same answer approximately eight times.
‘Yesterday we made a decision that we thought was in the best interest of them, and we stand by that decision,’ said Garrett.
When one reporter then asked if the team felt that Whitehead was owed an apology, Garrett responded: ‘We have made a decision and moved on.’
This display was a far cry from the Garrett who addressed the media last week in Dallas about about another team member’s run-ins with the law.
On Wednesday, Garrett defended running back Ezekiel Elliott in the wake of video and eyewitness accounts claiming that he knocked out a man at a Dallas bar.
‘We’re still gathering information on what that whole situation was. Zeke’s someone we believe very strongly in as a person and as a football player,’ said Garrett.
‘We’re going to continue to believe in him and try to put a structure around him — and all of our players – to help them make great decisions and grow, grow both on and off the field.’
Elliott also got an assist from team owner Jerry Jones when he was asked about the NFL’s investigation into the two police complaints in which an ex accuses the star player of domestic abuse at that same press conference.
‘There is absolutely nothing, not one thing, that I’ve seen that has anything to do with domestic violence,’ said Jones.
The NFL has still not cleared him in their ongoing investigation.
Whitehead meanwhile expressed his anger and frustration about the incident in an interview on Tuesday with Fox 4.
‘There’s not much I can do at this point. Like I said, I told them that it wasn’t true and no one had my back,’ explained Whitehead, who made it clear he was referring to the organization and not his teammates.
‘Whatever point they were trying to make, I guess they thought they made it. But like I said, I didn’t do this stuff I was accused of. I wasn’t perfect. I’ve been late to a meeting. But as far as legally getting in trouble… no. It gave them an opportunity and they took it.’
He did not say if he would consider a return to the team if they did apologize, which seems unlikely, but did reveal he is still feeling very positive about his career.
‘How everything went down, it’s not the end of me,’ said Whitehead.
‘I just want to get back playing football.’
Its been an unlucky month for Whitehead, just last week his American XL Bully pup Blitz was allegedly stolen from his home and held for ransom in Dallas Texas.
According to SBNation he was able to get the dog back after a local rapper, Boogotti Kasino, posted that he had the dog and wanted $20,000 to return it.
Whitehead reportedly paid an undisclosed sum and Blitz was returned safely.
PWC STATEMENT
Upon reviewing the June 22, 2017 arrest of an individual named “Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr.”, the police department is confident that the man charged with petit larceny, and who is subsequently being sought on an active warrant for failure to appear in court, is not Lucky Whitehead of the Dallas Cowboys.
The man charged on the morning of June 22 was not in possession of identification at the time of the encounter; however, did verbally provide identifying information to officers, which included a name, date of birth, and social security number matching that of Rodney Darnell Whitehead, Jr.
Officers then checked this information through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) database. The DMV photo on file was then used to compare to the man who was in custody. Officers acted in good faith that, at the time, the man in custody was the same man matching the information provided.
At this point, the police department is also confident in confirming that Mr. Whitehead’s identity was falsely provided to police during the investigation. The police department is currently seeking the identity of the man involved in the incident. Since the identifying information provided by the arrestee during the investigation was apparently false, the police department is working with the Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office to clear Mr. Whitehead from this investigation.
The police department regrets the impact these events had on Mr. Whitehead and his family.
