Micah Parsons isn’t building quite the media empire that Travis and Jason Kelce have over at New Heights—at least not yet. But that hasn’t stopped the Dallas Cowboys All-Pro linebacker from making a name for himself in the podcasting space.
Parsons has a Bleacher Report show, The Edge, and it fits the bill of the modern athlete in media. He hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinions, whether it has to do with his Cowboys, bashing Rodney Harrison for his over-the-top Zach Wilson criticism, or anything in between.
So it didn’t come as a surprise that Parsons again aimed at the media, particularly those accustomed to critiquing Dak Prescott at every twist and turn. Prior to the team’s Monday Night Football win over the Los Angeles Chargers, a Dallas radio host seemed to be rooting for the Cowboys’ starting quarterback to get injured.
While that’s taking the criticism of the 30-year-old Prescott much further than it needs to go, being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is without a doubt one of the most heavily scrutinized positions in sports. Prescott has been told that “he sucks,” has been ripped as the “biggest failure” that’s ever started for the Cowboys, and has been told he’s not talented enough to make an NFC Championship game. And that’s without mentioning Skip Bayless constantly throwing away his jersey.
So this has become a bit of a common theme. And it’s nothing that Parsons hasn’t heard about his quarterback already. But he’s seemingly had enough of the Cowboys being at the forefront of negative media attention.
Micah Parsons calls out the media for criticizing Dak and Cowboys 🗣️
(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/VFmOAAXMHn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 17, 2023
“I just don’t condone the bashing of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, and have the same energy for the Eagles,” he said Tuesday. “We want the same energy for everybody. Because there’s a whole lot of bashing when it’s Dak Prescott, but not the same when it’s the Eagles. I got time today…
“A lot of people said the Browns defense was overhyped. I said, ‘The Browns are the real deal. [Emmanuel] Acho said this, which pissed me off. ‘I’m not worried about the 49ers. They were missing Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel.'”
“‘The Browns were missing Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb. They were missing them key factors before the game even started. So why is it that we are just scrubs and we’re nobodys that don’t deserve to be on the field, and we’re just all talk? But, there’s hundreds of excuses for these other teams.”
Parsons is referring to the tweet below, which came after the 49ers lost on Sunday in Cleveland.
The Niners went the majority of the game without:
All Pro, Christian McCafrey.
All Pro, Deebo Samuel.
Pro bowl (talent) Dre Greenlaw. *whole game*
Yet were still a 41 yard field goal away from winning on the road. I’m really not worried, AT ALL. @49ers
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) October 15, 2023
Parsons certainly has a point here, that different teams are held to different standards. And like it or not, the Dallas Cowboys are held to a different standard than anyone else in the NFL. Parsons seemingly doesn’t mind being held to a high standard: heck, he played his college football at Penn State. What he’s asking for is some consistency across the board.
“If y’all just gonna hate Cowboys Nation, just say y’all hate Cowboys Nation,” he said. “I’m tired of people trashing my quarterback. I’m tired of people trashing my team. And that’s why I had nothing to say to the media this week. You want to hear me talk? Come hear me talk on The Edge Monday night.”
That’s not how any of this works. Players are obligated to talk to the media, as it is a stipulation in their contract. And they’re subject to fines if they skip out on speaking to reporters altogether. Parsons can’t air his grievances on his show in lieu of meeting with reporters. Yes, he can be more honest and forthright, but one isn’t seemingly replacing the other.
Getting back on track here, the Cowboys feed the media machine. Tuesday’s Undisputed featured literally two straight hours of Cowboys talk. They drive the cycle and love them or hate them, they’re going to be noteworthy whether they’re 4-2 or 0-6.
At the same time, Parsons is allowed to have a gripe with the way the media talks about him and his teammates. We just don’t see that changing anytime soon.
[Bleacher Report on Twitter]
