Why Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons admonished youth football team over Dak Prescott

Dallas Cowboys star edge rusher Micah Parsons finished getting treatment on his ankle Tuesday and rushed over to Hat Creek Burger Company in Coppell to surprise a youth football team.

Parsons has partnered with the rising burger brand, a passionate advocate for youth sports.

He tweaked his ankle in the Cowboys’ 38-3 victory against the New England Patriots when it got rolled up on but it got checked out. He termed the injury minor and declared himself good to go for Sunday’s showdown against the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers (4-0).

“Just bad placement, landed wrong, got rolled up on wrong,” Parsons said. “I just had to get it checked out. Make sure everything’s okay. They just did their due diligence.”

Parsons is ready for the 49ers and looking to get a little payback from the 19-12 season-ending loss in the NFC Divisional playoffs last January.

The bitterness remains.

“When you lose a playoff game it is always hurtful, especially when you play so hard and it was a hard fought game and it came down to the wire the way it did,” Parsons said. “So, it’s gonna be a good weekend.”

What Parsons wasn’t ready for on Tuesday was a hard grilling by the members of the youth football team.

Parsons ate burgers with them and played catch with them on the playground at Hat Creek. He also fielded a plethora questions about his favorite play, which position he played, his favorite touchdown and what player from back in the day he wish he could of have played with.

Parsons said Hall of Fame WR Randy Moss on the last question.

The Cowboys star linebacker, however, took exception when he was asked if he was was “okay” with quarterback Dak Prescott and then someone brought up his interceptions.

Parsons quickly shot back, “Yall, need to stay off social media.”

“I said ‘you guys on Twitter too much at 9 years old’,” a shocked Parsons said later. “It’s crazy. It’s crazy. He’ll never be able to get away from it. It’s insane. I feel bad for him.

“I would hate being a quarterback.”

Parsons elaborated further during his media session on Wednesday. He blamed media for fanning flames with negative narratives.

“I was like ‘what the hell,’ and said ‘Parents you got to get them off twitter’,” Parsons said. “Y’all gotta realize the influence that you guys had in these platforms because listen, I don’t want no 10-year old telling me that my quarterback stinks. I definitely think we need to be mindful what we say on TV and what we say online because because these kids look up to us.”

Parsons is doing his part to combat the negative media takes with his own comments on the “X” platform, formerly known as Twitter. He also talks about on his own podcast. He took particular exception to the criticism of New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson by NBC analyst Rodney Harrison Sunday night.

“I just feel like so many times the media just always puts those negative things on certain players,” Parsons said. And I just think it’s almost like bullying online. Like we’re just being social media bullies. And you know, you really hate to see that. It’s one thing if you say I’m garbage to my face on the field and we’re competing and we’re hammering out and we’re in the moment. But it’s another thing when a guy can’t to defend themselves. You don’t know what’s going on in his room. You don’t know what’s going on in the team and you’re just out there calling another man garbage on live TV.

“I just feel like as humans and as like people who have these platforms, we should just be better and more mindful how we talk about people and how those things can impact someone. You never know what someone’s journey is. You never know their story is. So I’m just calling out the social media bullies because we really shouldn’t be like that.”

Parsons likes to sack quarterbacks and he does love the kids.

He loves doing these kind of events because these are things he never experienced growing up as a child in Harrisburg, Pa.

“I think it’s important,” Parsons said. “My main mission is always about the youth and inspiring and getting them to see the bigger picture. And knowing that someone always believe in them. I never had this sort of opportunity. That’s why it’s so big for me.

“It’s not always about how you’re raised but about how you can change how you’re raised. And that should always be the message for any athlete across the world.”