Pat McAfee Comes to Dalton Schultz’s Defense as Cowboys Zoo Culture Remark Sparks Controversy: “He Got Taken Out of Context”

Dalton Schutz found himself in hot water after his appearance on the Pat McAfee show. The tight end talked about his transition from the Dallas Cowboys to the Houston Texans when his statements irked some Cowboys fans. Now, the host himself came forward to clear the air and clarify Schultz’s words.

The former Cowboys tight end was impressed with Houston’s systematic way of running things and liked the fact that “the focus is just football” in his new home. He further expressed how it was a stark contrast from his time at Dallas, where people were allowed on tours of the facilities. Schultz had used the word “zoo” to describe the gym, but the words soon blew out of proportion, and McAfee came in for damage control.

How Dalton Schultz’s words got misconstrued

On his recent appearance on McAfee’s show, Schultz talked about his experience in Houston and how he found it to be quite different than his time in his former team. The tight end said he likes that he likes that “focus is just football” in the Texans. He shared that many people are surprised when he talks about the workings of the Cowboys’ facility. As an example, Schultz took the touring people as an example, which was taken out of context.

Schultz compared that particular experience to being in a “zoo,” as there is a see-through window through which fans can watch the players work out. He further said that the touring players would also tap on the glass and try to catch the training athletes’ attention. Schultz acknowledged that it is Dallas’ culture that the owner, Jerry Jones, has built and that he doesn’t feel there’s anything wrong with it.

“It’s literally a zoo, dude,” Schultz shared. “There’s people tapping on the glass trying to get people’s attention while they’re doing power cleans or whatever. It’s different. That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what (owner) Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way that they run things, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract in the locker room, just being in the facility until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, there’s none of that.”

After the interview was released, Schultz’s words ruffled quite a lot of feathers, So much so that the host had to step in with clarifications.

McAfee steps in to clear the air around Schultz’s remarks

Whereas Shultz had used the word “zoo” only to describe the experience with the touring audience, many Dallas fans took it to heart and spoke up against it. McAfee came to the tight end’s rescue and clarified his statements. The sports analyst clarified that Schultz hadn’t intended to label the entire facility of the Cowboys as a “zoo” and had only expressed his surprise with the change in the way Texans operate. McAfee emphasized that the former Cowboys’ tight end had no intentions of bashing the facility, and the words were taken out of context.

McAfee explained that Schultz merely described his experience of being a Dallas Cowboy. So when Schultz used the word “zoo,” he was only describing one aspect of being a Cowboy, said the analyst. The tight end was talking about how being in Dallas comes with the aspect of always “being on display” and wasn’t badmouthing the entire franchise.

“He felt like a zoo animal, is how i took it whenever he said it in the moment. But when they described the Dallas Cowboys organization, they called the entire organization a zoo, as opposed to, what I think he was referring to, was a zoo animal.” 

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Pat McAfee’s clarifications will hopefully help simmer down the heat Schultz is facing. The 2018 draft left the Cowboys after five years and signed a three-year deal with the Texans worth $36 million. The tight end had 635 yards, five touchdowns, and 59 total receptions in the 2023 season.