NFL fines Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones $250,000 for obscene gesture he says was 'inadvertent'

The NFL said that it has fined Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones $250,000 for an obscene gesture he made toward fans at MetLife Stadium, which he claims was "inadvertent."

The incident occurred late in the Cowboys' game against the New York Jets on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, in which Dallas won 37-22, The Associated Press reported. Jones said Tuesday that he intended to give a “thumbs up” for celebrating Cowboys fans. He is likely to appeal the fine and has until Friday to decide, according to the team.

In a video widely shared on social media, Jones is seen giving a thumbs-up to the crowd from his stadium owners box before raising his middle finger and pointing lower in the crowd while mouthing a few indiscernible words, according to CNN. 

“That was unfortunate. That was kind of an exchange with our fans out in front of us,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. “There was a swarm of Cowboys fans out in front — not Jets fans, Cowboys fans. The entire stadium was brimming with enthusiasm of Cowboys and certainly late in the game.”

“(The gesture) was inadvertent on my part because that was right after we made our last touchdown, and we were all excited about it,” Jones said. 

“There wasn’t any antagonistic issue or anything like that. I just put up the wrong show on the hand. That was inadvertently done. I’m not kidding. If you want to call it accidental, you can call it accidental. But it got straightened around pretty quick. I had a chance to look at it. It got straightened out pretty quick, but the intention was ‘thumbs up,’ and basically pointing at our fans because everybody was jumping up and down excited.”