Dak: ‘Deeply regret’ comments about officials

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott apologized Tuesday via Twitter for his postgame comments regarding fans throwing bottles and debris at the officials after Sunday’s wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

A postgame question to Prescott on Sunday initially indicated the fans were throwing things at his teammates in anger, which he called, “sad.” However, when he was told the objects were directed at the officials, he said, “Credit to them then. Credit to them.”

He was given a chance to walk the comments back at the end of his news conference and didn’t.

On Tuesday, he tweeted three times to his 1.4 million followers to apologize, writing:

“I deeply regret the comments I made regarding the officials after the game on Sunday. I was caught up in the emotion of a disappointing loss and my words were uncalled for and unfair.

“I hold the NFL Officials in the highest regard and have always respected their professionalism and the difficulty of their jobs. The safety of everyone who attends a game or participates on the field of a sporting event is a very serious matter.

“That was a mistake on my behalf, and I am sorry.”

Prescott, who is a finalist for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, took criticism for his comments from media and the NBA Referees Association.

The referees association posted on its official Twitter account Tuesday: “The NBRA condemns the comments by Dak Prescott condoning violence against game officials. As an NFL leader, he should know better. We encourage the NFL to take action to discourage this deplorable behavior in the future.”

Speaking on 105.3 The Fan on Monday, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones condemned the actions of the fans.

“That is just unfortunate,” Jones said. “That is not the way I see our fans. I think we’re a class act. I think there is no place for things like that. Understand people being frustrated, but I don’t understand throwing things onto the field where people could get injured. There’s just no place for that.”