Cowboys mum on Jones-Ratliff tiff

DALLAS, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The Dallas Cowboys camp was mum Monday on the jawing that allegedly took place recently between owner Jerry Jones and injured nose tackle Jay Ratliff.

The 70-year-old Jones got into a heated exchange with the 6-foot-4, 303-pound lineman following the Cowboys' Dec. 2 win over Philadelphia after telling Ratliff the team needed him on the field and KTVT-KTXA reported others had to intervene. Ratliff, who has a five-year, $40 million contract with Dallas, had missed several games with groin and ankle injuries.

Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones, the owner's son, told KRLD-FM Monday he didn't want to discuss what did or didn't happen.

"That's in our locker room right after a game, certainly the press wasn't in there. We'd like to keep those things internally," the younger Jones said. "Certainly there's always going to be reports of things. Those are just things that I wouldn't want to comment on. I wasn't involved and I don't really want to comment on that right now."

KTVT-KTXA said during the verbal confrontation, Ratliff "rose to physically challenge him and then made derisive mention of Jones' age."

Sources told the TV stations the dust-up was "volcanic."

"They're both passionate men and great men and they want to win, that's all it is," one source said. "But they were in each other's faces. People had to intervene."