Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said his players “have to be better” in dealing with criticism in the wake of cornerback Trevon Diggs confronting a television reporter following Sunday’s defeat to the San Francisco 49ers.
Diggs took umbrage to a tweet that questioned his commitment and left the locker room post-match to speak to the reporter in question – local TV anchor Mike Leslie, who works for WFAA.
The loss to the Niners left Dallas with a 3-4 record and McCarthy felt Diggs’ reaction was a sign of the frustration the whole team felt but refused to excuse his behavior.
He said: “I think we have to be better in those moments. I always talk about staying on a high road.
“That’s part of our responsibility in this business. But I’m not ignorant or naive to the fact that this generation, that’s part of the world they live in, the social media world. You have to manage that. That’s part of being a professional athlete and that’s part of representing this organization properly.”
Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer backed McCarthy’s stance, adding: “Obviously it’s important that we all be professionals with it and it’s not the kind of thing that we want to do.
“You probably shouldn’t be reading tweets right after the game.”
Diggs comes out of the locker room to confront a reporter for a social media post. #Cowboys
@NBCDFWSports pic.twitter.com/2iDdVjdz69— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) October 28, 2024
My emotions got the better of me – Diggs
Diggs attempted to explain his actions when he appeared on ‘The Edge with Micah Parsons’ yesterday.
He said: “I went up to him and I just spoke how I felt.
“I just let my emotions get the best of me. But at the end of the day still doesn’t make it right for anybody just to be saying anything, just trying to throw dirt on your name or make you seem like you’re doing bad or a bad job because I felt like I played my hardest game yesterday.”
Dallas have another difficult assignment in Week 9 with a road game against the Atlanta Falcons.
