Dak Prescott weighs in on Cowboys fan tour controversy

Fan tours of the Dallas Cowboys’ facility have come under scrutiny this week after a report from ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler detailing both the player and fan perspective of the tour.

Some players were reported as saying they’re unbothered by the attention, while others feel as though they’re behind glass in a “zoo.” To starting quarterback Dak Prescott, he’s been able to keep these tours from becoming a distraction to him.

“I’m present where I am. I think, honestly, it’s an excuse,” Prescott said, via Jon Machota on Thursday. “What’s the difference in (reporters) coming in the locker room and talking? Guys bitch about that too. And I don’t get that. It’s being professional, some things you deal with. Obviously, I guess, the nature of this organization, the tours are probably 10 times more than other places, if other places are doing them.

“… You got to embrace it. Honestly. You can walk by and have a negative mindset about it and allow it to ruin your day, or you can be thankful that you’re in an organization that people want to see. For me, it’s just easy to say ‘What’s up,’ wave and keep walking. I think I’ve heard you feel like a zoo animal, well, it’s like, sometimes I bark back and I say ‘Hey,’ and you just keep rolling. A lot going on, I’m not going to allow a couple of people (walking) through the workplace.”

While Kahler’s report posed the question that these fan tours may be a hurdle for the Cowboys — Prescott can see the positives of having fans in the building on these tours.

“It’s the NFL,” Prescott continued. “It’s a business that those exact reasons that this game is entertaining, that people want to watch it, that you have the fans that you have and you can create the relationships. If you’re distracted by that then you’re distracted by the fans in any arena you get into.”

The Cowboys have been operating these tours inside the facility since it opened in 2016 and had them in place well before that — which means there’s likely no indication that they’ll stop anytime soon.

For now, it’s business as usual inside the Cowboys’ facility as they prepare for Week 8’s Sunday Night Football game between Dallas and the San Francisco 49ers.