FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones apologized Friday after a 2013 video of him making a racially insensitive remark was published on the gossip website The Blast earlier in the day.
According to The Blast, the video was shot at the Warwick Melrose - Dallas hotel by a white man who asked Jones if he would tape a message to his fiancée.
"Hey, Jennifer, congratulations on the wedding," Jones said. "Now, you know he's with a black girl tonight, don't you?"
The Hall of Fame owner then started laughing and the video turned to a black male, also laughing. Jones then turned away and exited, and the video ended.
Jones, through a statement issued by the Cowboys on Friday, apologized.
"That comment was inappropriate," he said. "It's not who I am, and I'm sorry."
According to The Blast, the person who shot the video shared it with friends recently "because he thought the current temperature of race in the NFL and the country made Jones' comments relevant." The video was then sent to the website "because the individuals involved thought it was important for NFL fans to see," The Blast said.
The release of the video comes at a tumultuous time for Jones and his relationship with the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell. Jones has sought to block a contract extension for Goodell and has threatened legal action if the extension is finalized.
Jones also has been upset with how the league handled Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott's six-game suspension for violating the personal conduct policy, even though Elliott was not charged by authorities in Columbus, Ohio, after an accusation of domestic violence.
Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who played for the Cowboys and was part of their last Super Bowl championship in 1995, defended Jones.
"I won't cast judgment, on one moment when a joke went south, to capture who this man represents in a lifetime commitment of love and compassion to all ethnicities," Sanders said via email. "Jerry does more for his players than anyone in the league. I don't think there's a player, whether African American or Caucasian, that would agree this is a representation of Jerry.
"He has gone beyond the call of duty of being an NFL owner for people of all ethnicities and backgrounds, and I know this to be a fact."